Kane Millsaps was sentenced to nine years in an Arkansas prison in November 2017 after a jury convicted him of second-degree battery for a brass-knuckle attack on a 12-year-old boy. He was 16 when he committed the attack but was charged and tried as an adult, and the sentence he received was less than half the twenty-year maximum prosecutors had originally sought.
The Attack He Was Sentenced For
On May 31, 2016, Millsaps walked up behind a 12-year-old boy on a walking trail in Conway, Arkansas, and punched him in the head while wearing brass knuckles. The boy had no warning and dropped immediately. He lost several teeth and needed extensive medical and dental care.
Millsaps recorded the attack himself. The video later appeared on YouTube, which is how authorities and the public learned about the assault in the first place. That footage became the backbone of the prosecution’s case at trial, showing the approach, the blow, and what came after.
Why the Sentence Was Nine Years and Not Twenty
Prosecutors charged Millsaps with first-degree battery, a Class B felony, along with a misdemeanor count of possessing an instrument of crime. First-degree battery in Arkansas requires proof that the defendant purposely caused serious physical injury with a deadly weapon, and a Class B felony carries five to twenty years in prison.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-401 – Sentence
The jury did not go there. It convicted Millsaps of the lesser offense of second-degree battery, which covers a broader range of conduct, including recklessly causing serious injury or purposely causing physical injury with a deadly weapon other than a firearm.2Justia. Arkansas Code 5-13-202 – Battery in the Second Degree The jury was apparently not convinced the prosecution had proven the specific intent and level of injury the higher charge demanded. That single decision cut the ceiling on his sentence roughly in half.
What a Nine-Year Arkansas Sentence Looks Like
Second-degree battery in Arkansas can be either a Class C or Class D felony depending on the specific conduct.2Justia. Arkansas Code 5-13-202 – Battery in the Second Degree A Class C felony carries three to ten years; a Class D felony carries up to six.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-401 – Sentence Nine years sits inside the Class C range, so the conviction rested on a provision of the statute triggering the higher classification.
The actual time served can be shorter than the number handed down. Arkansas law generally allows inmates to earn credit toward early release, though violent felony convictions can impose stricter requirements on how much of the sentence must be completed before parole becomes available.
What Follows Him After Prison
A felony battery conviction carries consequences that outlast the prison term itself, and several of them are permanent.
He Cannot Legally Own a Firearm
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing firearms or ammunition.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Because second-degree battery in his class carried a potential sentence of up to ten years, that federal ban applies to Millsaps. It is effectively permanent unless a court or other authority restores eligibility, which is rare for violent offenses.
The Victim Can Still Sue
The criminal case does not close off a civil lawsuit. A victim of assault and battery can seek compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and therapy costs, and when the conduct was intentional, courts may add punitive damages. Arkansas gives victims only one year from the date of the incident to file that civil claim, one of the shortest deadlines in the country.4Justia. Arkansas Code 16-56-104 – Actions With Limitation of One Year
Background Checks Will Show It
A violent felony on a permanent record creates lasting obstacles to employment, housing, and education. Most employers and landlords run background checks, and a battery conviction involving a child victim is particularly difficult to work around. Those collateral effects are part of why the defense fought so hard to reduce the charge and the sentence at trial.