A man whose murder case drew widespread attention after a judge's controversial decision to grant him home incarceration was acquitted Friday.

Deandre Williams, 21, was acquitted in the 2017 murder of 20-year-old Robert Leachman, Williams' attorney said Friday afternoon.

Attorney Mark Chandler said a jury deliberated for about four hours in the case over whether the shooting was in self-defense.

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"We're happy that he was exonerated and that the jury found he did exercise his right to defend himself and his brother," Chandler said.

Following Williams' August 2017 arrest in the death of Leachman, then-Jefferson District Court Judge Sean Delahanty granted Williams electronically monitored home incarceration during arraignment, citing arrest papers that the judge said lacked detail as well as Williams' clean criminal record.

Delahanty's decision to grant Williams home incarceration drew outrage from Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad, county attorney Mike O'Connell and others.

The decision likely played a role in last November's election; Delahanty lost his seat to Lisa Langford, then a prosecutor in the Jefferson County Attorney's Office.

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Delahanty could not immediately be reached by phone for comment Friday evening.

"I think our judges make tough decisions every day," Chandler said of the controversy, saying he thinks Delahanty took "a lot of unnecessary heat" for the decision.

"This was one of those rare cases where home incarceration I believe was an appropriate bond to begin with."

Allison Ross: 502-582-4241; aross@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @@allisonSross. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/allisonr.