Opinion
CRIMINAL ACTION 13-205
09-21-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. TYONE BURTON
SECTION: “E”
ORDER
SUSIE MORGAN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Before the Court is a motion for compassionate release filed by Defendant Tyone Burton. The Government has filed an opposition. For the reasons that follow, the motion is DENIED.
R. Doc. 1035.
R. Doc. 1040.
BACKGROUND
On August 13, 2015, Burton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and conspiracy to possess firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(o). The Court sentenced him to 93 months' imprisonment.Burton is serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Oakdale I, located in Allen Parish, Louisiana, with an anticipated release date of May 23, 2022. At Burton's facility, as of August 24, 2021, 1, 426 inmates and 165 staff members have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Burton himself has received the Pfizer vaccine. On August 1, 2021, Burton sent a letter to the Court requesting he be allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence on home confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
R. Doc. 472, 473, 484, 485, 490.
R. Docs. 623, 624.
R. Doc. 1040 at 1.
Id. at 2.
Id.
R. Doc. 1035.
LAW AND ANALYSIS
Burton asks the Court to order the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) to release him on home confinement. 18 U.S.C. § 3621 provides “[t]he Bureau of Prisons shall designate the place of the prisoner's imprisonment, ” and, pursuant to § 3622, “[t]he Bureau of Prisons may release a prisoner from the place of his imprisonment for a limited period, ” under certain circumstances. As a result, BOP has exclusive authority to determine where a prisoner is housed and the terms of a prisoner's pre-release custody. Because Burton seeks release to home confinement, his initial remedy is by administrative action within BOP. Following exhaustion, the proper vehicle to challenge BOP's administrative decisions is a petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. A challenge to an administrative decision of BOP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 must be filed in the district where Burton is incarcerated. Burton is incarcerated in Allen Parish, Louisiana. Thus, any such motion must be brought in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, which encompasses Allen Parish, Louisiana. As a result, the Court must deny the instant motion, as this Court lacks authority under 18 U.S.C. § 3622 to order BOP to transfer Burton to home confinement.
18 U.S.C. § 3621(b) (emphasis added).
Id. § 3622 (emphasis added).
Id. § 3621(b); see also United States v. Snead, 63 F.3d 281, 389 n. 6 (5th Cir. 1995) (declining to address the defendant's request that he be allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence on home confinement because “such requests are properly directed to the Bureau of Prisons”); United States v. Voda, 994 F.2d 149, 151 (5th Cir. 1993) (sentencing court “may recommend that a sentence imposed under section 3621 be served in a particular prison or jail, ” but “only the Bureau of Prisons has the actual authority to designate the place of incarceration”).
See Pack v. Yusuff, 218 F.3d 448, 451 (5th Cir. 2000).
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Defendant Tyone Burton's motion for compassionate release is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
R. Doc. 1035.