How Is That Criminal Justice Reform Working Out?

Not well if you count the victims. Old Town knife attack suspect cycled through multiple arrests and electronic monitoring before latest rampage, records show - CWB Chicago

I'm shocked that no one died, and that they are, for the time being, keeping him locked up.

Prosecutors this week charged a 43-year-old man with attacking or trying to attack three strangers with a knife during a rampage in Old Town two months ago.

But what happened in the months and weeks leading up to that incident is an increasingly familiar Chicago story: Repeated arrests. Repeated violations. Repeated warnings. And repeated releases by judges who kept putting him back on the street.

The number of people he attacked, including an EMT, is astounding. Attacking an EMT is a felony, but not one that can be used in Illinois, because of the insanely-named SAFE-T Act, to deny pretrial release.

On October 13th, he attacked 3 people with a knife in the space of a few minutes. He attacked one guy on the street, he then ducked into a public library, and attacked a patron, and then attacked a 3rd guy when he exited the library.

Officers arrested Stampley nearby. All three victims identified him. Stampley denied carrying a knife.

At first he was only charged with misdemeanors for the last 3 attacks. (There were many more before that last day.)

Prosecutors dropped all six Old Town misdemeanor charges on October 28 and refiled the case this week as five felony aggravated battery counts. During a detention hearing on Tuesday, Judge Rivanda Doss Beal reiterated a detention order for Stampley, citing what she called his “criminal versatility.”

I would not be surprised if he is released to go onto electronic monitoring at a future hearing. He has been on electronic monitoring several times, but it has not had the desired impact on his behavior.