People v. Ward

              SIXTH DIVISION
February 2, 2007
No. 1-04-1852
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court of
Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County.
)
v. ) No. 01 CR 690
)
WILLIAM WARD, ) Honorable
) Camille E. Willis,
Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding.
JUSTICE JOSEPH GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:
Defendant, William Ward, appeals after his conviction by a jury of two counts of
aggravated battery with a firearm. Defendant first argues that the State failed to prove his guilt
beyond a reasonable doubt, asserting that his identification by a witness was too doubtful and
unreliable and that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he possessed the weapon used in
the shooting at the time the shooting occurred. Defendant also alleges that the State injected
reversible error into the trial by minimizing its burden of proof and inflaming the jury's passions
and prejudices in its closing argument. He further contends that the circuit court erred by:
declining to grant his motion to suppress; allowing the jury to determine that the victims suffered
severe bodily injuries; failing to question the jurors individually after one of them indicated that
defendant communicated with him, and that he had shared that experience with his fellow jurors;
failing to give the jury the instruction required by People v. Prim, 53 Ill. 2d 62 (1972), when the
jury indicated that it was deadlocked; and failing to conduct a hearing as required by People v.