The appellant, Carl Raymond Morris, on September 13, 1967, appeared pro se in the circuit court of Rock Island County and

pleaded guilty to two charges of armed robbery, a charge of attempted robbery and a charge that he violated his bail bond,

i.e., "jumped" bond. The appellant was sentenced to a term of not less than one year on the violation of bail bond charge

and to terms of 2 to 14 years on the other charges. It was ordered that all sentences were to run concurrently. The appellant

on December 4, 1967, filed a petition pro se under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 38, par. 122-1

et seq.) and an amended petition on December 26, 1967. On January 3, 1968, the Public Defender was appointed to represent

the appellant. In the petition it was claimed that there had been a denial of the right to assistance of counsel; that the sentences imposed

were excessive and unreasonably disproportionate to the penalties imposed on his accomplices and thus deprived the appellant

of due process; that the pleas of guilty were coerced, because the appellant had been led to believe that he would receive

probation on pleading guilty; and that the appellant did not understand the nature of the proceedings or the consequences

of his pleas.