A Dorchester man accused of stabbing a person death two years ago has been placed on house arrest to wait out the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Boston Herald.

William Jason Utley, 40, was released on Tuesday despite objections from Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins, the newspaper reports. Utley is accused of killing Anthony Young, 33, in Uphams Corner on March 25, 2018, and was supposed to go on trial next week.

Utley was released due to an apparent medical issue that would have put him at higher risk for coronavirus. The Herald reports that Rollins’s office stated they believed his medical issues “did not outweigh the public safety concerns we had regarding his release.”

The man’s release comes as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court weighed in on an emergency petition filed last week that’s looking to reduce the number of incarcerated people in jails and prisons across the state amid the pandemic.

The petition, brought by ACLU of Massachusetts, the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers calls for the release of sentenced inmates as well as individuals held on pretrial detention. Rollins’s office issued a statement on Tuesday backing the petition.

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