Opinion
16cr273 (DLC)
08-14-2020
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. WILLIAM ROBERTS, Defendant.
ORDER
:
In February 2017, William Roberts entered a plea of guilty to the lesser included offense of conspiring to distribute crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(b)(1)(C). In June 2017, this Court sentenced Roberts to a sentence of 96 months' imprisonment. Roberts is currently forty-five years old and incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution Danbury. The Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") projects that he will be released in February 2022.
An Order of June 12, 2020 granted Roberts' request that counsel be appointed to make this petition. On July 18, Roberts's counsel submitted a request for his release pursuant to § 3582(c)(1)(A). The petition was fully submitted on August 10. The Government does not dispute that Roberts's petition meets the statutory exhaustion requirement of § 3582(c)(1)(A).
Roberts's sentence may be reduced if, after consideration of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, a court finds that "extraordinary and compelling reasons" warrant such a reduction. 18 U.S.C. § 3582 (c)(1)(A)(i). Roberts has not demonstrated that his release is warranted by extraordinary and compelling reasons or that consideration of the § 3553(a) factors weighs in favor of early release.
Roberts's petition rests on a disease that he must manage through immunosuppressive medication. As Roberts's petition concedes, however, the association between that disease or the medication that he takes to manage it and the experience of any serious risk from COVID-19 is unclear. Roberts has already tested positive for the virus and suffered no symptoms at all. It appears from this record that the BOP can manage his health condition during the pandemic.
Furthermore, the relevant § 3553(a) factors do not counsel in favor of a reduction of sentence. Roberts has an extensive criminal history record. At the time it imposed sentence, the Court considered Roberts's health condition. After consideration of the § 3553(a) factors, Roberts received a below-guidelines sentence. Roberts has not shown that a further reduction is warranted. It is hereby
ORDERED that Roberts's July 18, 2020 motion pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) is denied.
SO ORDERED: Dated: New York, New York
August 14, 2020
/s/_________
DENISE COTE
United States District Judge