Opinion
CASE NO. 5:15-cr-00108
01-22-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. ISAAC JONES, Defendant.
OPINION & ORDER
[Resolving Docs. 48, 50] :
Defendant Isaac Jones requests a sentence reduction under the compassionate release statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3582. The Government opposes.
Docs. 48, 50.
Doc. 55.
For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS Jones's compassionate release motion.
I. Background
In May 2015, Jones pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. In August 2015, this Court sentenced Jones to 86 months of imprisonment and six years of supervised release.
Docs. 23, 24.
Doc. 39.
II. Discussion
On October 26, 2020, Jones moved for compassionate release. On December 22, 2020, Jones filed a supplemental motion. Jones requests a sentence reduction due to chronic kidney disease that increases his risk for serious illness if he contracts COVID-19.
Doc. 48.
Doc. 50.
The Government opposes. The Government argues that the § 3553 factors weigh against early release and that Jones remains a danger to the community.
Doc. 55.
A. Exhaustion
The Court may modify a defendant's sentence upon a motion from the defendant if the defendant filed the motion thirty or more days after the defendant sent a compassionate release request to their warden.
18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A); see also United States v . Alam, 960 F.3d 831, 834-35 (6th Cir. 2020).
On August 17, 2020, Jones asked the North Lake Correctional Facility warden for a sentence reduction. Because Jones filed a motion with the Court more than thirty days after he sent his request to the warden, Jones satisfies the statutory exhaustion requirement.
Doc. 48-1.
B. Eligibility
Generally, to grant compassionate release, a court must: (1) "find that extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant [a sentence] reduction," (2) "ensure that such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission," and (3) "consider[ ] all relevant sentencing factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)."
"[I]n the absence of an applicable policy statement for inmate-filed compassionate-release motions, district courts have discretion to define 'extraordinary and compelling' on their own initiative." U .S. v. Elias, — F.3d —, No. 20-3654, 2021 WL 50169, *2 (6th Cir. Jan. 6, 2021).
Id. (citing U .S. v. Jones, 980 F.3d 1098, 1111 (6th Cir. 2020) (citing 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A))) (internal quotation marks omitted).
However, there are presently no applicable Sentencing Commission policy statements for inmate-filed compassionate release motions. Therefore, in cases, as here, where an inmate files a motion on their own behalf, the court "may skip step two."
See Elias , 2021 WL 50169 at *2 ("[U.S.S.G.] § 1B1.13 is not an applicable policy statement for compassionate-release motions brought directly by inmates, and so district courts need not consider it when ruling on those motions."); Jones , 980 F.3d at 1108 (stating that "[t]he Commission's policy statement on compassionate release resides in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13" but explaining that "§ 1B1.13 does not 'appl[y]' to cases where an imprisoned person files a motion for compassionate release.").
Jones , 980 F.3d at 1111.
The Court finds that Jones's chronic kidney disease, in combination with the COVID-19 pandemic, presents an extraordinary and compelling reasons warranting compassionate release. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes chronic kidney disease as a condition that increases a person's risk for serious illness from COVID-19.
People with Certain Medical Conditions, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Dec. 29, 2020), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html.
Likewise, the Court finds that the § 3553 support release. Jones has served more than 70 percent of his sentence, has a low recidivism risk level, and has had a clean prison disciplinary record for the last year. While the Court acknowledges that Jones has violent felony convictions, they are more than twenty years old.
Doc. 48-1 at 3-4; Doc. 50 at 7; Doc. 55-2.
Doc. 30 at 7-8.
III. Conclusion
The Court GRANTS Jones's compassionate release motion and reduces his sentence to time served. Jones's six-year supervised release remains in force, and he is otherwise subject to the terms of the Court's most recent judgment.
See Doc. 39. --------
The Court orders the Bureau of Prisons to take measures, including a 14-day pre-transfer quarantine, to ensure that Jones is COVID-19-free prior to his release.
IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: January 22, 2021
s/ James S . Gwin
JAMES S. GWIN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE