JUDGE CITES JAIL ABUSE, CUTS YEAR OFF DRUG DEALER'S SENTENCE

A federal judge Friday cut a year off a drug dealer's sentence after
learning he had been extremely mistreated at the Montgomery County
Jail.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas told attorneys at a sentencing hearing
for onetime lawyer J. Brent Liedtke that other federal prisoners had
also complained of mistreatment at the jail -- and she knew of no
other way to send a message to authorities.

Liedtke testified he was beaten eight times after being placed in a
holding cell with violent prisoners. He said he was the only white
prisoner in the cell, despite an outbreak of racial hostilities among
the inmates.

He also said he was kept in an isolation cell and deprived of sleep
for 10 days because the light was always on and guards rapped on the
window every 15 minutes.

Sheriff Guy Williams said all allegations of mistreatment are
investigated, but that neither Liedtke nor the U.S. Marshal's Service
ever reported the alleged abuse.

Williams said he dislikes having federal prisoners because they
overcrowd the facility, but the county is under contract to provide
200 beds daily for federal prisoners.

"The federal prisoners whine more than other inmates," he
said.

Atlas sentenced Liedtke to 223 months in prison for conspiracy to
manufacture methamphetamine.

A former criminal defense attorney, Liedtke conspired with a former
client and another person to manufacture the illegal drug, prosecutors
said.

He aided in buying 100 pounds of phenyl acetic acid -- for using to
make the drug -- from a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

Liedtke, 47, was convicted in March after acting as his own counsel
during a five-day jury trial.

Attorney Robert Fickman, who represented Liedtke during the sentencing
phase, cited his client's mistreatment in asking Atlas for a sentence
less than that mandated by federal guidelines.

During his three-four months' confinement at the jail, Fickman said,
Liedtke was repeatedly mistreated and forced to sleep on the bare
floor under a sink.

"It's always a tragedy to see a gifted attorney convicted of a crime,"
Fickman said.