Judge says man convicted of murder was fit for trial

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - A Peoria County judge has ruled that he didn't err when he found a man accused of murder fit for trial four years ago.

Edjuan Payne was found guilty of killing Orvette Davis, and he was sentenced to life in prison in 2012. An Illinois appeals court sent Payne's case back to Chief Judge Steve Kouri in April, taking exception with how he ruled Payne was fit for trial.

Appellate judges said Kouri relied on the prosecutor and defense attorney saying a report stated Payne was fit, but that judges typically review such evidence themselves. The judges ordered a retroactive fitness hearing to ensure proper procedure was followed.

Kouri said Wednesday that he wasn't relying on the attorneys' word, but that he based his conclusion on the mental health expert's report, the (Peoria) Journal Star (http://bit.ly/1ZP7d7o ) reported.

Payne's case had drawn attention statewide 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. He was released early in fall 2009 on a criminal damage to property conviction.

After violating parole, Payne was taken back into custody and was later released in March 2010, about two months before he was charged in Davis' death. He was also found guilty of murder in the 1980s.

Prosecutors said Payne beat, strangled and stabbed Davis and left her in a rain-soaked alley in Peoria in 2010. He was at first deemed mentally unfit for trial, but he was later declared fit by the mental health expert.

Payne's attorney said an appeal of Wednesday's decision was likely.

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Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com