- A woman brutally beaten in the South Loop four years ago says the criminal justice system has failed her and, she fears, is failing to keep others safe.
The attack happened when the woman and her boyfriend refused demands to give two homeless people cigarettes.
The victim says her attacker appears to be experiencing far more freedom than she is.
It was Jen Hall's 36th birthday, but the night of celebration ended abruptly.
"I was paralyzed," she said. "I couldn't walk. I was bald and I had 85 staples in my head. I was missing 20-something teeth, I had 5 or 6 teeth left in my mouth. It was very scary."
Nearly as swift as the beating came arrests and justice. Or so Hall thought.
Two homeless people, Derrick King and Joyce Burgess, were charged with attempted murder. But then, prosecutors struck a deal.
Imagine that....another deal by Anita's people.
King pled guilty to robbery and was sentenced to serve three years in prison. Less than three weeks after that plea deal, he was set free, part of a since scuttled early release program meant to save the state money.
Since his release in 2009, King's rap sheet has grown.
Two new assault charges, two arrests for drug possession and earlier this year he was charged with domestic battery with intent to commit bodily harm.
Over the last ten years, he's been charged with assault, battery, theft, robbery or drug possessions 12 times.
We're afraid someone is going to die at this guy's hands one day. And it will have all have been completely preventable.