The defendant, Victor Saldivar, was charged by criminal information in the circuit court of Rock Island County with the murder of Terrence Hunt. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 9-1(a)(2).) Following a bench trial on stipulated facts, the defendant was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, pars. 9-2(a)(1), (b).) The circuit court sentenced the defendant to a seven-year term of imprisonment with a mandatory supervised release term of two years (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, pars. 9-2(c), 1005-8-1(a)(4)). The appellate court affirmed the defendant's conviction and sentence in a Rule 23 order (87 Ill.2d R. 23; 130 Ill. App.3d 1163). We allowed the defendant's petition for leave to appeal (94 Ill.2d R. 315(a)).
