Dist. Ct. did not err in denying defendant’s request for compassionate release under 18 USC section 3582(c)(1)(A) based on recent amendment to First Step Act that would have produced sentence that was 45 years less than his current 110-year sentence if it was in effect at time of his sentencing, and on fact that his prison record showed extraordinary rehabilitation. First Step Act provisions could not help defendant where said provisions that would have produced lower sentence applied only prospectively. Moreover, prisoners may not use section 3582(c)(1)(A) to navigate around Congress’s express choice in First Step Act not to make relevant provisions retroactive. Also, plaintiff’s exemplary behavior in prison, by itself, did not qualify as extraordinary and compelling reason to warrant his early release after having served 21 years on his sentence.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Sentencing