BOARDMAN TWP., Ohio - The man who was once second in command at the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department says that spending time in prison has changed him for the better.

The assertion is contained in a letter former Major Michael Budd sent to the federal judge who sentenced him to eight years in prison for allowing excessive force to be used on two county jail inmates.

The letter, dated January 22, 2015, asks U.S. District Judge Lesley Wells to end his court ordered three year supervised release seven months early.

The probation is part of the sentence handed down after April 2005, when Budd was convicted of conspiracy and two counts of depriving the civil rights of the inmates.

Budd was released from prison in April of 2012, and spent five more months in a Youngstown halfway house until August of that year when he was placed on three year supervised release as stipulated in his sentence.

The letter from the 53-year-old Boardman resident says that since prison, he has been able to make better choices and stay out of what he characterized as bad environments

Budd, who served in the Sheriff's department from 1991 until his conviction in 2005, says he is currently employed at a North Jackson manufacturing plant, and has been spending quality time with his family.

Budd says in the letter that over the previous 30 months he has remained law abiding, has paid a $12,500 fine and a $400 special assessment that were ordered during sentencing.

Judge Wells has yet to rule on the request.