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Michigan judge wishes she could give cancer patient, 72, jail time for overgrown lawn

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Pictured, Judge Alexis G. Krot and Burhan Chowdhury Michigan cancer patient.
Judge Alexis G. Krot and Burhan Chowdhury Michigan cancer patient.
Pictured, Judge Alexis G. Krot and Burhan Chowdhury Michigan cancer patient.

Judge Alexis G. Krot wishes she could give Burhan Chowdhury Michigan cancer patient, 72, jail time for overgrown lawn. Zoom hearing leads to petition to oust judge. 

A judge has told a 72 year old Michigan man with cancer that he wishes he could have given him jail time for failing to maintain their front lawn – this while the 72 year old was amidst ongoing treatment for lymphoma.

Burhan Chowdhury of Hamtramck, conceded falling behind in yard maintenance after he was diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes in 2019. His overgrown property prompted local officials to subpoena Chowdhury.

In now-viral footage (see below) of the Zoom court hearing on Jan. 10, Chowdhury’s breathing appeared labored as Judge Alexis G. Krot of the 31st District Court berated him.

‘You should be ashamed of yourself,’ Krot says in a video shared Jan. 12, since viewed more than 37,500 times as of Thursday morning. ‘If I could give you jail time on this, I would.’

‘You’ve got to get that cleaned up. That is totally inappropriate,’ she continues after ordering Chowdhury to pay a $100 fine for the eyesore.

‘The neighbors should not have to look at that’

Chowdhury’s son, Shibbir, 33, was also present, and spoke on behalf of his father when he told Krot that cancer treatments had left his dad very weak — and prevented him from mowing the lawn lately.

For years, Shibbir helped his struggling father around the house, but had been in Bangladesh for three months prior to Chowdhury’s citation on Aug. 2.

The judge seemingly oblivious to the family’s situation responds: ‘Do you see that photo? That is shameful. Shameful. The neighbors should not have to look at that.’

Since Tuesday, just under 14,000 social media watchdogs have signed a petition on Change.org to demand that Krot be removed from her seat. ‘She has a history of being bigoted to immigrants,’ the petition alleges.

The petition also pointed to a post on Instagram by Detroit crime blogger @crimeinthed_detroit, where one follower wrote, ‘Who appointed Karen as judge?’

Krot has not returned requests for comment about the petition, as her role as a judge forbids her from making statements about the case, according to WDIV.

Meanwhile, Shibbir told WDIV he acknowledged the ‘mistakes’ that led his family to break a city ordinance.

Burhan Chowdhury Michigan cancer patient.
Burhan Chowdhury Michigan cancer patient front lawn.

Understanding how judges apply the law

He also told the Washington Post, ‘She was telling my father, a sick person, that he should go to jail. That’s ridiculous. You can’t give a 72-year-old person jail time for not cleaning an alley. I was really shocked by it. I didn’t expect her to yell at us in this kind of a situation.’

Shibbir paid his dad’s ticket on Wednesday, according to Insider, while also receiving support online from those who witnessed the Zoom public hearing.

‘People understand that a situation like this can happen with someone who is old or sick,’ he said.

Well almost all people…

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