Bethany Magee’s Critical Condition Was Preventable

Written by Alyssa Sonnenburg

On November 17th at around 9 pm on Chicago’s L Train, Bethany Magee, a 26 year old woman, was doused in gasoline and set on fire by Lawrence Reed.

The infuriating part of this horrific crime is not only the crime itself, but the looming fact that this atrocity was completely preventable.

Why? Because Lawrence Reed is another “career criminal” with 72 prior arrests. A very long rap sheet.

To understand the nature of just how preventable this incident was, Reed’s criminal context is important.

Back in August, Lawrence Reed was in custody for another assault case where he slapped a social worker so hard she was knocked unconscious. Even though this Cook County Judge, Teresa Molina-Gonzalez, was warned by prosecutors of the danger that he posed to society, Reed was released with a mere electronic monitoring as the public’s only safety measure against him.

Bethany Magee is another example of the real danger of soft-on-crime policies that Democrats so routinely promote.

A study conducted in 2024 found that prosecutors who lean progressive (those who are focused on fewer prison/jail sentences and bail reform) were the majority in United States counties from 2000-2020. During that time, there was a 7% increase in total crime.

Furthermore, the Journal of Crime and Justice found that progressive prosecutors were directly linked to a higher homicide rate.

These studies only serve to prove common sense: When crimes go unpunished, criminals grow emboldened.

For decades now, criminals in Chicago have grown more and more invigorated because they know judges and prosecutors care more about their progressive de-incarceration agenda than they do about keeping Chicago’s streets and citizens safe.

Illinois lawmakers share in the responsibility as well.

In 2021, the Democrat supermajority in the General Assembly passed the SAFE-T Act, which Governor Pritzker signed into law, making Illinois the first state nationwide to eliminate cash bail, among other controversial so-called justice reforms.

Several other provisions restrict how policing is done, affecting how police officers respond to a call, with the potential of hindering them from doing the job they were trained to do.

Furthermore, other provisions make it difficult for prosecutors to petition the courts to detain a defendant that poses a threat to the public.

Lawrence Reed is such a case.

Bethany Magee is unfortunately another example of the real effects of soft-on-crime policies. The criminal that doused her with gasoline and set her on fire should have been locked up, but instead was allowed to roam the streets.

In addition to this, no one on the train stepped in to help Bethany during the attack, which is itself a tragic indictment of the growing callousness toward crime in our culture.

This horrific crime against Bethany Magee was completely preventable.