A man whose life sentence was commuted by President Obama in 2015 has now shot a woman on a Chicago expressway. The woman did not die but she was left brain dead.
Alton Mills, 54, was first jailed for life in 1994 for trafficking cocaine. The third strike rule, which resulted in him receiving an automatic life sentence since he had two prior felony convictions for which he had served no time, has since been struck down.
During his time in office, Obama commuted the sentences of 1,972 convicts, one of whom was Mills. This led to Mills’ life sentence expiring in April 2016. Last Sunday morning, Mills allegedly shot at a car that contained three friends who just left a nightclub in south suburban Chicago. Assistant State Attorney Kathryn Morrissey stated on Monday during Mills’ bail hearing that a car had pulled up behind Mills’ SUV at a red light.
Following the light turning green, the car drove around Mills and did not honk or make any other loud noises. This resulted in Mills chasing the car and later pulling beside it and opening fire toward the driver’s window. One of the bullets ended up hitting the woman who was asleep in the back of the car leaving her brain dead.
Media outlet CWB Chicago had previously reported that the woman was not expected to survive. Morrisey further pointed out that allegedly Mills had admitted to the shooting, and that officers had found bullets in his bedroom after a property and vehicle search which matched those fired in the incident. The suspect was charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder on Tuesday.
