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The judge who granted shock probation to a man who later abducted three people before robbing a bank has recused herself from the case.
In an Aug. 29 order of recusal, Jefferson Circuit Judge Jessica Green said she could no longer hear the case, arguing that previous outrage by the public over her decision to set aside 32-year-old Armond Langford’s 14-year prison sentence might impact how her decisions will be perceived by the public.
Langford, whose sentence followed a string of attempted ATM robberies, is accused of breaking into an east Louisville home on Aug. 8, abducting a mother and her two children. He then forced the woman to drive to a PNC Bank location on Shelbyville Road, where he took an undisclosed amount of money. The woman was stabbed during the abduction.
The case was randomly assigned to Green’s court.
Green’s decision to recuse herself from Langford’s case comes after a barrage of criticism for her decision in July to grant him shock probation five months into his sentence, which, according to Green’s recusal, included threats on her life.
The case has been randomly reassigned to Judge Susan Gibson’s court.
In the wake of her decision, Green received letters and emails and the courts were flooded with phone calls, according to her recusal and court administrators. According to her recusal, Green received “an unprecedented degree of what is best described as ‘outrage,’ instigating a torrent of vicious threats of bodily harm, sexual assault and death” to Green and her family.
Her rescusal also states that her personal information was posted online with a call for people to “surround her house until she quits.”
She said the letters, emails and calls were “filled with shockingly vile racial animus,” or racial biases, discrimination or hostility.
“(Expletive) judge. Why did we free you?” one commenter said, according to Green’s recusal. “You’re [sic] African kings sold you to everyone because you were all so stupid and useless. Animals. Need caged.”
While a judge can recuse themself from a case where there is a reasonable basis to question “their sutability to preside fairly and impartially,” Green said that was not her rationale.
“The aforementioned vitriol notwithstanding, any and all decisions concering this case would, as is true for any case that comes before this Court, be made based on the relevant facts and applicable law without consideration or fear of how that decision could potentially impact the Court personally, professionally or politically,” Green wrote in her recusal. “However, and insofar as our system of justice only works to the extent that it is perceived to be just and fair, the Court has serious concerns about the extent to which the aforementioned outrage might impact how those decisions will be perceived, or more to the point, misperceived.”
Cases are assigned randomly with a 1 in 13 chance of landing in a court. Langford’s new robbery case was randomly assigned to Division 6, Green’s court ― a 7.692% chance.
On Aug. 19, Langford was arraigned by Judge Sarah Clay on behalf of Green on 13 charges, including five charges of robbery, three charges of kidnapping — one with serious physical injury and two of a minor. He also is charged with one count each of the following:
Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative sports reporter. Reach her at skuzydym@courier-journal.com or on social at @stephkuzy.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Armond Langford case Judge Jessica Green recuses after criticism
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