‘I’M VERY EMBARRASSED’

Judge Who Humiliated 72-Year-Old Cancer Patient Over Unkempt Weeds: I’m Sorry

The judge told the visibly sick older man that she wanted to send him to jail for his untidy yard.

A Michigan judge who berated a 72-year-old cancer patient for failing to tidy up the weeds in his yard has apologized after more than 200,000 people signed a petition demanding her resignation. Burhan Chowdhury, 72, appeared in a Zoom hearing on Jan. 10 after getting a ticket for overgrown grass outside his home in Hamtramck. Wheezing as he spoke, Chowdhury tried to explain to the judge: “I am a cancer patient, very old, ma’am... I was then very weak... I cannot look after this thing.” However, Judge Alexis Krot chose to humiliate the man, telling him: “You should be ashamed of yourself... If I could give you jail time on this, I would... If you come back here, you’re going to jail.” After the clip went viral, Krot apologized, saying in a statement to the Detroit Free Press: “I made a mistake... I acted intemperately. I’m very embarrassed that I did so. I apologize to the person who appeared before me and to our entire community for having failed to meet the high standards that we expect of our judicial officers, and that I expect of myself.”