U.S. District Court Judge Gary Brown is getting public recognition and support after carefully considering a suspect’s personal safety when crafting a customized sentence for him. He’s also getting a lot of attention for his choice of wording as the sentence was handed down, calling Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center “barbaric.”

According to court records, the recent case involved Daniel Colucci, a 74-year-old. Colucci was accused of committing a series of tax frauds totaling $1 million. The suspect reportedly withheld sums of money from his employees’ paychecks that should’ve been remitted to the government as tax payments but were instead kept for profit.

Judge Brown convicted Colucci of the charges and outlined how these types of crimes are very serious since they adversely impact programs that are meant to support the public good. Despite the severity of the crime, the judge also had to weigh out the suspect’s overall condition. Colucci was recently diagnosed with cancer and has a host of other medical problems.

On top of that, the presiding judge is also very aware of the conditions at MDC. The center has recently been riddled with complaints about inadequate supervision, uncontrolled assaults, and a lack of sufficient medical care. In one recent gruesome incident, an inmate was assaulted so severely that their eye socket was fractured.

In light of all these facts, Judge Brown sentenced the suspect to serve out nine months behind bars, but he included a very specific exception. Judge Brown ordered that if the suspect was assigned to be housed at the MDC, his sentence would instead be switched to house arrest. Judge Brown further commented how the crime did warrant jail time, but the conditions of the ‘barbaric’ jail made the sentence seem too harsh in light of the suspect’s condition.

How to Secure House Arrest or a Reduced Sentence

Judge Brown’s sentencing guidelines are very fair. If the suspect isn’t able to get the medical care they deserve at the jail facility, then they will be allowed to have their sentence converted to nine months of home arrest with the addition of electronic monitoring. On top of the medical concerns, the victim’s age makes them very vulnerable to the unsafe conditions at the jail.

If you’ve recently been accused of a crime in Brooklyn, then you might also fear being housed at MDC. Unfortunately, the judge in your situation might not be so compassionate about your safety or vulnerabilities.

To ensure you get a fair shot at justice, it’s best to hire a solid criminal defense attorney to represent you. Here at Bukh Law Firm, our team of experienced and reliable defense attorneys will help you determine your best options for requesting house arrest or a reduced sentence. In the best possible scenario, we’ll have your charges cleared entirely, but that’s not always possible. Your second best option may be agreeing to a reduced charge in order to get a lighter penalty in exchange. Don’t make any decisions without first talking to an attorney, though.

Schedule a call with our team now to talk about your case in more detail.