The Chicago man who allegedly doused a woman in gasoline and lit her on fire on 17 November was a career criminal, the White House has said.
Lawrence Reed who was arrested for the crime had 72 prior arrests that include eight felony convictions and seven misdemeanors, according to the White House. The victim, 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, survived the attack but is now fighting for her life with horrific burns, the White House stated.
In court on Monday, Mr. Reed yelled three times in succession I'm guilty after the judge warned he could receive a life sentence for charges that include committing a terrorist attack, according to reports from inside the courtroom.
The White House has sought to blame the incident on Democrats' policies on crime, labeling them as soft. Both the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago are led by Democrats, and President Donald Trump is currently seeking to withhold federal funds from Illinois over its elimination of cash bail.
The suspect was walking free because of the radical, dangerous 'no cash bail' law proudly signed by Governor JB Pritzker and celebrated by Chicago's defund-the-police Mayor Brandon Johnson, the White House added.
Mayor Johnson stated that the attack was a tragic incident, and his prayers are with the victim and her family. However, there is increasing scrutiny on how the city is handling crime and mental health issues, especially as Mr. Reed has a documented history of mental illness and had been released on electronic monitoring after a previous arrest.
The shocking details of the attack reveal that Ms. MaGee was merely reading her phone when Mr. Reed approached her from behind, dousing her in gasoline before setting her on fire. Footage showed her rolling on the floor engulfed in flames attempting to extinguish the fire.
Last week, Mayor Johnson described the attack as an absolute failure of both criminal justice and mental health institutions, acknowledging that Reed, suffering from mental health challenges, posed a danger to himself and the community.
