People v. Beaman

              NO. 4-05-0610 Filed 11/3/06
IN THE APPELLATE COURT
OF ILLINOIS
FOURTH DISTRICT
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from
Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Circuit Court of
v. ) McLean County
ALAN BEAMAN, ) No. 94CF476
Defendant-Appellant. )
) Honorable
) Jeffrey B. Ford,
) Judge Presiding.
_____________________________________________________________________
JUSTICE McCULLOUGH delivered the opinion of the court:
After a jury trial, defendant, Alan Beaman, was convicted of the first-degree
murder of his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Lockmiller. Defendant was sentenced to 50 years=
imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections. On appeal, this court affirmed
defendant=s conviction. People v. Beaman, No. 4-95-0396 (May 23, 1996) (unpublished
order under Supreme Court Rule 23). On April 2, 1997, defendant filed a petition for
postconviction relief. In its final form, defendant=s second verified amended petition for
postconviction relief and supplement to the second amended petition were presented
before the trial court through an evidentiary hearing. On June 14, 2005, the trial court
issued a 31-page order denying defendant=s request for postconviction relief. Defendant
appeals the third-stage dismissal of his petition. We affirm.
It is undisputed by the parties, the trial court, and this court that the case
against defendant was entirely circumstantial, and as such, depended upon a large body of
facts. These facts are well known by all parties and have been extensively recounted by