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Judge Spares Prison for Man Who Attacked Elderly Pro-Life Advocates

Baltimore Circuit Judge Yvette M. Bryant’s ruling that substitutes prison with home detention accompanied by probation has prompted outrage over the adequacy of punishment for politically motivated violence.

Overview

  • Patrick Brice was convicted in February on two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of reckless endangerment after surveillance video showed him tackling 84-year-old Richard Schaefer into a planter and beating 73-year-old Mark Crosby outside a Planned Parenthood clinic.
  • Judge Bryant acquitted Brice of first-degree assault charges and imposed one year of home detention followed by three years of probation instead of the 10-year prison term sought by state prosecutors.
  • Victims Crosby and Schaefer endured serious injuries including a fractured facial bone, permanent blindness in one eye and head and neck trauma, yet they have since returned to protesting outside the same facility.
  • Prosecutors and the victims’ families criticized the sentence as overly lenient and argued it undermines efforts to deter violence driven by political or religious differences.
  • Under his sentence, Brice must remain at home except for approved work or medical travel, avoid abortion and pro-life clinics and complete court-mandated therapy, anger management and substance screenings.