(WXYZ) – He was serving two life sentences with no hope of parole for murder and was leading a major drug ring in Detroit in the 1990s. He is now gone and living among us. COVID-19 has achieved this.
This is the case of John Bass, now 51 years old. He was the leader of the Young Boys Incorporated Detroit drug gang.
Bass ordered the murder of his own stepbrother. Then Bass killed the killer and set him on fire. She threatened another man, shooting him in the chest, among others.
“Even the victims to this day remain frightened by him,” said former federal prosecutor Anjali Prasad, who now works as a defense lawyer.
Prasad says he sees this case in both directions.
Federal Judge Arthur Tarnow ordered Bass’s release, calling him a success in prison. Judge Tarnow cited that while in prison, Bass graduated from GED High School, became a certified life coach, trained and underwent a transformation redemption.
“He was sentenced to life and does not sit there watching TV all day every day like many other detainees we know,” Prasad said.
The judge also said that Bass weighs 322 pounds and has a high risk of contracting COVID-19.
Bass’s defense lawyer says that in the prison where Bass was held in Pennsylvania, 46% of detainees have COVDI or had.
The US prosecutor in Detroit is appealing for release, saying the judge abused his discretion, and Bass remains a danger to the public.
In December, Judge Tarnow released Ronald Segars, who was making time for drugs and gun crimes. The judge mentioned that Segars suffered a stroke, walked with a cane and had high blood pressure.
Segars told the judge that he was older now, changed and did not want to return to the streets. Days later, Segars would be charged with shooting and injuring his fiancé and mother during an argument at a home in western Detroit.
“This is a judge who believes in human redemption and second chances,” Prasad said.
John Bass talked to me on the phone. He lives in Eastpointe. He says he has a driver’s license, a new job, reconnects with his family and will stay out of trouble.