Upstate NY judge's racist comments from the bench get burglar 10 years off his sentence

A panel of appeals judges slammed an upstate judge Thursday for telling a Black man convicted of burglary he pitied him because his brain was “probably retarded in growth” and repeatedly ordered his mouth bound with masking tape, court records show.

Retired Judge Frank LaBuda’s remarks at Angelo Johnson’s 2018 sentencing for burglary in Sullivan County also got 10 years shaved off Johnson’s sentence, the appellate panel ruled.

LaBuda told Johnson in court, “I feel sorry for you. Because I know that if we were to look in your mind we would find that your brain, your frontal lobes, your decision-making processes are probably retarded in growth.”

Then the jurist doubled down: ”[T]he sentence here is in a way to make you safe from hurting yourself or others, because I appreciate the fact that your brain is not developed, through no fault of your own.”

Read more: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-judge-racist-remarks-20210702-avtcai2dyncdvhzs2ojbysbixm-story.html

After decades as a Democrat, LaBuda changed his party affiliation to Republican in January 2020.