Chicago Sun-Times headline: State law change means man accused of starting shootout that killed bystander won’t face murder charges
A Cook County grand jury has declined to indict a man on a first-degree murder charge in connection with a December shooting that left a woman dead when she was struck by a stray bullet in Austin.
The case appears to be the first of it’s kind brought in the county since the state’s felony murder statute was changed as part of the SAFE-T Act — a landmark criminal justice reform bill that became state law last year.
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During a hearing Monday, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said jurors returned indictments against Travis Andrews on weapons charges in the shooting — but not for murder — and cited the SAFE-T Act as the reason.
In Governor Pritzker’s Illinois, the man who started a shootout that killed an innocent woman walking to buy lotto tickets will earn a simple weapons charge. According to Pritzker, this result will keep us more safe and represents a more just system.
“Add getting away with murder to the long list of consequences stemming from Governor Pritzker signing the most pro-criminal, anti-police legislation in Illinois history,” said ILGOP Spokesperson Joe Hackler. “In addition to Pritzker standing in solidarity with Kim Foxx, and his Prisoner Review Board releasing violent criminals onto our streets early, Pritzker’s SAFE-T Act has made us less safe and made Illinois a refuge for the worst of humanity.”
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