For as long as defense attorneys have been around, they have tried to persuade judges and prosecutors alike to consider the harsh, inhumane, and sometimes unconstitutional conditions faced by clients at federal prisons. While some judges and government attorneys have expressed an understanding for just how bad some prisons may be, for the most part, these conditions have not been factored in during plea negotiations and sentences based on the federal guidelines table. This may soon change.
Who is Housed in MDC Brooklyn?
Certainly since the start of COVID-19, special attention and more pressing arguments have been made by defense attorneys when it comes to the conditions at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC). While this facility is primarily one which detains defendants during a pretrial phase, it also sometimes houses individuals who have been sentenced for somewhat shorter prison terms prior to a probationary release.
Recently, judges have begun to not only take notice of these arguments but have now factored them into their determinations during federal sentencing hearings.
Judge Gary Brown’s Unprecedented Move
Recently, Judge Gary Brown, of the Eastern District of New York, included a scathing analysis of the MDC when sentencing an individual, Daniel Colucci. While doing so, Judge Brown, in part, stated that his difficult sentencing decision was “further complicated by an extrinsic factor that looms large in nearly every bail and sentencing determination made in this judicial district: the dangerous, barbaric conditions that have existed for some time at the Metropolitan Detention Center (“MDC”) in Brooklyn.” Judge Brown cited two recent homicides at the facility, two stabbings and a violent assault. He also noted several examples of corruption and the continuous smuggling of contraband into the facility.
Ultimately, he sentenced Daniel Colucci to nine months in federal custody, yet, in an unprecedented move, stated that if the Bureau of Prisons designated Mr. Colucci to the MDC to serve his time, Judge Brown would vacate and take back the sentence.
Judge Jesse Furman Calls MDC “Dreadful”
This extraordinary decision piggybacks off of and goes beyond what several other federal court judges have already implemented when it comes to the MDC. Earlier in 2024, Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York issued a blistering 19-page decision in which he called the MDC “dreadful.” Judge Furman cited “near perpetual lockdowns no longer explained by COVID-19,” delays in medical care, widespread contraband, and four inmate suicides in the past three years. Judge Furman wrote: “It has gotten to the point that it is routine, for judges in both this District and the Eastern District to give reduced sentences to defendants based on the conditions of confinement in the MDC. Prosecutors no longer even put up a fight, let alone dispute that the state of affairs is unacceptable.” Some judges have also looked to give prisoners more good-time credit if serving time at the MDC – hence, every day served would count as two days towards his or her sentence.
This all falls only a few years after the metropolitan correctional center (MCC) in Manhattan shuttered its own doors following many of the same issues including high-profile deaths such as that of Jeffrey Epstein.
How Our Office Can Help
The Law Offices of Jason Goldman has handled federal sentencings and has succeeded in obtaining below-guidelines results for many clients who were facing decades in federal prisons such as the MDC.
Ultimately, if you or a loved one is facing a federal prosecution, it is of the utmost importance to hire a federal defense lawyer who is well-versed with the federal sentencing guidelines. Please contact the Law Offices of Jason Goldman today.