A convicted felon with a history of rape and murder is destined to spend the remainder of his life incarcerated after a savage assault on a fellow bus passenger on Long Island, occurring less than three months post-parole.
Brian France, a 62-year-old resident of Coram, faces a minimum of 22 additional years in prison after he mercilessly struck his victim repeatedly in the head with a “padlock attached to a strap” during a bus journey from Patchogue to Coram, according to Suffolk County prosecutors’ announcement on Thursday.
Authorities reported that France, who allegedly knew the victim from a Department of Social Services Housing facility, launched an attack by punching the man multiple times from behind before escaping, as captured by bus surveillance footage.
The victim, who remains unnamed, managed to survive the ordeal but required medical attention at a local hospital for a severely injured ear, which had been split in half.
This brutal incident unfolded on May 20, merely ten weeks following France’s release from prison on parole.
France’s extensive criminal record dates back to at least 1981, when he was sentenced to two to six years for rape and burglary. In 1985, he faced conviction for grand larceny, leading to another incarceration. By 1988, he was sentenced to 18 years to life for a second-degree murder charge.
In 2005, while serving his term for the murder conviction, France was convicted of attempted assault and sentenced to additional time behinds bars.
France was finally released on parole in August 2020 before returning to prison in 2023 for violating the terms of that agreement. He was set free again on March 6 of this year.
According to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney, France serves as an argument against the “ill-advised Elder Parole Bill” being considered by state lawmakers.
“This murderer and rapist served over 32 years, but would have been released earlier under ‘Elder Parole,’” Tierney said Thursday. “He was out just over two months when he committed this violent assault.”
The bill would allow inmates who are 55 or older and have served at least 15 years of their sentence to be make their case for freedom before the state’s Board of Parole.
Supporters of the bill argue that New York State has a large number of inmates serving life sentences who are disproportionately Black and Hispanic.
