Federal prosecutors said Monday that a Chicago street gang leader freed by then-Gov. George Ryan after years on death row went right back to trading in guns and drugs and should be sentenced to 30 years to life in prison as "the only way to protect the public."
Aaron Patterson, 40, was described in court papers as both a "prince" and a "grand sheikh" of Chicago's Black P Stones gang who went on a violent rampage in 1985 that included three shootings, a merciless beating and attacking a person with a hammer.
Patterson also helped to mastermind gang activities during the 17 years that he spent in prison for a double murder he insists he didn't commit, prosecutors said in their 40-page brief.
"A review of the last 20 years of Patterson's life reveals an unbroken string of crime and violence," they said. They told U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer that "the only way to protect the public from future crimes by Patterson is to incarcerate him for a lengthy period."
They recommended a term of 360 months to life in prison for Patterson, who was convicted of drug and firearms charges on July 29.
His attorneys, Jason R. Epstein and Scott T. Kamin, did not immediately return a call for comment. Patterson maintains that the police were out to get him and set him up.
Patterson was one of four death row inmates pardoned by Ryan because there was little evidence against them in January 2003, just before Ryan left office. Ryan also commuted the sentences of all 167 other prisoners then on death row to life without parole.
When he left prison, Patterson publicly vowed to devote his life to uncovering police corruption. But in August 2004 he was arrested on drug and gun charges.
During his tumultuous trial, he was repeatedly removed from the courtroom by marshals after shouting angrily at the judge. Also, one lawyer was released from Patterson's defense team before the trial started after she staged two tearful walkouts in as many days. AP
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