A state appellate court has ordered a Peoria judge to review whether a man was fit to stand trial for the murder of a woman in 2010.
Forty-five-year-old Edjuan Payne was convicted in 2012 of killing Orvette Davis and leaving her infant grandchild in an alley. Payne's case drew attention statewide at the time after it was revealed he had been part of an unpublicized program to cut inmates' state sentences to weeks or days to free up prison space.
The Peoria Journal Star reports the appellate court took exception with how the Peoria judge ruled Payne was fit for trial. The court said the judge relied on the prosecutor and defense attorney saying a report stated Payne was fit, but that judges tend to review such evidence themselves.
A new hearing date has not been set for Payne.
