Opinion
CASE NO: 3:19-cr-102-BJD-PDB
02-19-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. RHIANNON RADER
ORDER ON MOTION FOR SENTENCE REDUCTION UNDER 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) ORDER
Upon motion of [×] the defendant [ ] the Director of the Bureau of Prisons for a reduction in sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), and after considering the applicable factors provided in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and the applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission, IT IS ORDERED that the motion is:
[×] DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE because the defendant has not exhausted all administrative remedies as required by 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), nor have 30 days lapsed since receipt of the defendant's request by the warden of the defendant's facility.
Defendant Rhiannon Rader is a 35-year-old inmate incarcerated at Coleman Low FCI, serving a 60-month term of imprisonment for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a substance containing hydrocodone. (Doc. 291, Judgment). Rader seeks compassionate release because her son's primary caregiver (Rader's mother) recently passed away, and because Rader fears exposure to Covid-19. (Doc. 321, Motion for Compassionate Release).
However, Rader does not offer any evidence that she has exhausted, or attempted to exhaust, administrative remedies as required by § 3582(c)(1)(A). A movant for compassionate release bears the burden of proving that a reduction in sentence is warranted. United States v. Heromin, No. 8:11-cr-550-T-33SPF, 2019 WL 2411311, at *2 (M.D. Fla. Jun. 7, 2019); cf. United States v. Hamilton, 715 F.3d 328, 337 (11th Cir. 2013) (a movant under § 3582(c)(2) bears the burden of proving that a sentence reduction is appropriate). Section 3582(c)(1)(A)'s exhaustion requirement is a firm prerequisite to filing a motion for compassionate release in district court, which is not subject to judicially created exceptions. United States v. Alam, 960 F.3d 831, 833-36 (6th Cir. 2020); United States v. Raia, 954 F.3d 594, 597 (3d Cir. 2020). Because Rader offers no indication that she has satisfied one of § 3582(c)(1)(A)'s exhaustion alternatives, the Motion is due to be denied without prejudice.
Accordingly, Defendant Rhiannon Rader's Motion for Compassionate Release (Doc. 321) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to renewing the motion upon submitting evidence that she has exhausted administrative remedies, or that she has submitted a request for a reduction in sentence to the warden of her facility and that 30 days have lapsed. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
DONE AND ORDERED at Jacksonville, Florida this 19th day of February, 2021.
/s/ _________
BRIAN J. DAVIS
United States District Judge lc 19 Copies:
Counsel of record
Defendant