Reggie Brown and Katrina Brown to begin sentences in federal prison today
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After several attempts to avoid serving any time, two former Jacksonville city council members, Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown are scheduled to report to federal prisons today.
The defense for both parties repeatedly asked for and filed motions for no prison time, citing health problems, financial hardship, and a lack of prior criminal records.
The most recent attempt to avoid jail-time was rejected at the beginning of January as the defense asked they remain free on bond while their appeals move through the court system. The judge ruled the two must begin their sentences as directed.
Prisoners are 5 times more likely to get COVID-19 than the overall population. A 69-year old prisoner is trying to change that one livestream at a time.
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January 22, 2021, 2:40 PM·15 min read
The COVID-19 pandemic is tearing through US prisons, with inmates 5.5 times more likely to catch the disease than the overall population.
One prisoner under home confinement, 69-year-old Rufus Rochelle, is calling for the release of prisoners in daily Facebook Live streams.
Correctional facilities are desperately lacking PPE and other health resources, and can hardly enforce social distancing measures.
On the evening that Rufus Rochelle saw the future, he was watching the news in a crowded room.
Former Jacksonville City Council members Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown cannot stay out of prison while appealing their fraud convictions unless an appeals court says so, a judge has decided.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard this week denied requests to remain free the two made in November, but said they could also ask the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, where their appeals have been filed.
The judge said the Browns, who are not related, should file any requests to remain free with the appeals court by Jan. 15.
In October, Howard sentenced Katrina Brown to 33 months in prison, and Reggie Brown to 18 months, for dozens of counts centered around their efforts to get money from a federally backed loan Katrina Brown’s family had taken out to build a barbecue sauce factory.