After being arrested 396 times in the past 35 years, a judge sentenced 51-year-old Shermain Miles to a mental health and substance abuse treatment program. In a deal with prosecutors, the hope is that it will stop her from repeating the behavior that leads to brushes with the law.
“All of us are reaching out and offering you, maybe for the first time in your life, a hand, OK?” Judge Peggy Chiampas told Miles. “But you’ve got to reach out and grab all of our hands as well.”
Miles showed gratitude by thanking the judge for her help before leaving the courtroom. Miles has been held in the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln since December for violating parole. She’ previously served time and was released in April 2011 after serving thee years for an armed robbery conviction, but was arrested several times after her release while on parole for minor charges that ultimately landed her back in prison.
She appeared in a Cook County court on Monday, June 9, to plead guilty on charges she attacked a city alderman. She also pleaded guilty to trespassing and public drinking in two other separate cases.
Miles’ parole date is to be determined.
Source: Huffington Post
