EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — The man who stabbed a cab driver 18 times in Alton, Illinois, back in 2018 will spend the rest of his life in prison.
A press release from the Madison County State's Attorney said Arthur E. Smallwood was sentenced to mandatory life in prison for the 2018 attempted murder of a cab driver.
According to a release from Alton police, Arthur E. Smallwood, 54, stabbed a cab driver who works for Alton’s Best Cabs in the back, shoulder and neck. The incident occurred on Atwood Street around 10:15 p.m. Smallwood was riding in the back of the cab when he stabbed the driver.
The driver, who survived the attack, said he was stabbed 18 times.
Smallwood was found guilty on July 17, 2019 and was sentenced Tuesday. He had a history of violent crime, including convictions for armed robbery in 1984 and attempted first-degree murder in 1998.
“After a lifetime of short sentences and not being held properly accountable for his violent crimes, it is a great relief to see Judge Napp permanently remove this violent individual from our community," Madison County State's Attorney Tom Gibbons said in the press release.
