There are “three time losers” in some recidivist cases and then there is Shermain Miles. For Miles, the magic number is 396. That’s right, she has racked up roughly 400 arrests since 1978 but insists that 396 is the magic number and that she is now considering a change in her lifestyle.
Some might have found number 3 or 30 or 300 to be that moment that concentrates your mind. However, Miles, 51, insists “I’m really not that bad a person.” When approached by a reporter after being put on a train back to Chicago, Miles threatened “I got a lawyer to sue y’all.” Actually, she has had what appears hundreds of lawyers.
She has had 73 convictions in total over the years and is a poster child for habitual offender sentencing. Her last victim was Chicago Alderman James Cappleman in a physical assault. Before that, she robbed Mujo Cesic, a 75-year-old Bosnian immigrant, at knife point.
The neighborhood has told reporters that Miles has terrorized locals and is a continual menace. She has a history of alcohol abuse in addition to her criminal propensities. The question is when a society should impose a much longer sentence for such a habitual criminal pattern rather than continuing the cycle of arrests and releases.
What do you think?
Nick, I agree with what you are saying…..
However, MOST of these are petty crimes…..
and it seems that being she was a street kid, most of these
were for shop lifting…… and like I said before, Loitering and
Prostitution…..
5 of them in TOTAL were for attempted robbery and robbery….which she may not have been convicted of…..
before I were to pass total judgement on her, I would want to know
the exacts of her crimes and if most were really just petty crimes then
this is really just sensationalism…..
JAG, I agree w/ much of what you’re saying. Being libertarian, prostitution should be legal and the war on drugs is insane. However, it’s the sheer number of arrests that has caused that this became a news story. They need readers to sell ads. That said, for every person who grew up in her circumstances, the majority don’t commit this sheer volume of crime. Some commit no crimes. At some point people need to accept personal responsibility for their actions. That’s a major part of libertarianism and a fundamental for any successful society.
she has been charged 92 times for theft, on 65 occasions for disorderly conduct, 59 counts for prostitution-related crimes and five times for robbery or attempted robbery
Miles has told psychologists she believes people are trying to kill and steal from her. She declined an interview with the Sun-Times but described her renewed faith in a letter to the paper.
The woman reportedly suffered abuse by her mother as a child. ‘We were all abused by my mom, but Shermain was abused more than any of us,’ one of Miles’ two sisters told the Sun-Times.
‘It’s the root cause of all her problems,’ she added.
The woman added they never knew their father and their mother died in 1994.
The children were taken into care but Shermain reportedly couldn’t adjust to foster care and was living on the streets by the age of 14.
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so she was on the streets with NO HELP at age 14 after being HORRIBLY abused by her mother….
Of course she was arrested for theft….. I bet many of the arrests for theft
were for food…..
she became a prostitute to support herself……
This is a woman who did not have it easy by any stretch…..
Back in the 70’s and 80’s they didn’t have programs like they have today to help teens who are in this kind of situation…..
Many of you are assuming that most of her arrests were
over violent attacks on others…..
What would give a more clear picture of this is to know how many of these were Felony and how many were misdemeanor ….
How many were for being stopped for being Black????
YES, that does happen…..
How many were for loitering????
How many for disturbing the peace????
Saying a person has 397 arrests does NOT really give a full picture…..
Yes, I know that one was for robbing another person…..
and another was for attacking a government official….
For all we know that attack might have been she grabbed his arm….
I would want to know WAYYYYYY more before I make up
my mind that she is not worth rehabilitating……
raff, Back when I worked for Clausen they had Jewel Food as a client. And, as you might imagine, there were many lawsuits. I went a south side Jewel to interview an employee and Minnie Minoso was there signing autographs. Jewel had hired him to do the promo and nobody was there. I felt to bad on several levels. I spent time talking w/ Minnie for about 30 minutes. As you would expect, engaging, funny and gracious. Great ballplayer who ignored the warning track!
InalienableWrights…
What is you said in my opinion, is SPOT ON….
Some of her arrests have been for loitering…..
I would bet that most of her arrests have been questionable….
also, I wonder what it was like for a person if color in that city in
1978…..
and yes, I read in another article on this women that
she does have mental health issues….
what world do you live in . she is black, that’s right I said it, she is black skinned. She can do any thing she wants , How dare you or anybody else
try to change her! maybe #397 will be for actually sinking her knife into
another persons HEART! Then and only then will she get some attention!!
She say’s 396 is the number I say 357 should have been the number…
I think there are way too many laws and I am sure that accounts for a large portion of her arrests.
Chicago will lock you up and throw away the key if you peacefully carry a concealed gun yet they just slap the wrist of people that use knives to rob people.
Our criminal justice system and the cops seem to be the real problem here.
nick,
associating this woman with Minnie Monoso is an insult to Minnie! 🙂
After 396 arrests, I am not sure that counseling will help, unless she does have some underlying mental issues.
A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do…. Girls just want to have fun….. Thank goodness she is not a black male…. After arrest number 2 they’d be looking at three times out….. And life….. She’s lucky she’s female…. Maybe she should run for office with that luck….. Teflon Mom….. Sherman’s a German….
She’s only 51 years old. If she stays healthy and doesn’t get knifed herself, I think she’s good for 500. What’s impressive about this woman’s record is her stamina. As people age, their arrests and propensity for crime diminishes. Additionally, the propensity for violent crime lessens w/ age. This woman is the Minnie Minoso of Chicago.
She must not be worried about going to prison. The punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Sherriff Arpaio has got it right, Inmates should have to earn their keep. If you don’t work you don’t eat. Do away with country club prisons, make jail a place that you never want to be in. No more 20 year prison sentences that are out in less time for good behavior give them more time for bad behavior
Americans love records.
At least she didn’t murder anyone like the individual/idiot/racist murderer put to rest by the state of missouri last night. I am usually against death row, but this murderer was on death row for over 20 years for confessing to killin at least 8 and wounded at least 3, simply because he wanted to start a ‘race war.’ Then, while he was on death row, the murderer made the comment: ‘although I don’t want to die at the hands of the state, if I do die, I am going to heaven.’
Now and then, a gulag sounds just about right. Out of sight, out of mind.
it seems we’ve got some seriously deficient judges
Was her pregnant mom hit by a Chevy?
(Car nuts remember the 396CI engine)
I said after HER FIRST ARREST……
tho, it seems, in my opinion, that if she is acting in such a manner, that she might have some
undiagnosed mental issues…..
Rehab for sweet Shermain after 396 arrests? Bull. Get the menace off the street and in jail for good.
In all fairness, It is not as if it is not easy to get arrested for
stupid things…. I was once arrested for telling a Police Officer to F*** Off….
They arrested me for Obstruction of Justice….
This was back in the 80’s and my friend was driving and he went around a corner and somebody had parked their car RIGHT on the edge of the corner…. so my friend hit that car head on…. admittedly he was going faster than he should have…. and my head hit and cracked the windshield…. So, I was really dizzy and I went to pull out a cigarette and light it…… and the PO told me that I could not smoke and if I didn’t listen to him, he would arrest me….. So, I told him to F*** Off…..
So, he arrested me….
We have no idea if this woman was arrested mostly for Prostitution…. or loitering…..
I do agree that if she is a violent person and harassing her neighbors then YES, she should have been jailed longer….. BUT perhaps she has mental issues and should be put in a mental ward…. NOT jail…..
Fact is, I think it is more a testament of our Justice System than it is OF her as a person…..
She should have been helped and guided after her FIRST arrest so that she would not end up in jail again….
People should be rehabilitated… NOT just housed in Prison and jail…