Opinion
19-20269
02-15-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. DORAL M. THOMPSON, Defendant.
ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR HOME CONFINEMENT (ECF NO. 21)
Hon. George Caram Steeh, Judge
Defendant Doral Thompson requests that the court release him to home confinement, due do pandemic conditions at his facility. Although the court appreciates Thompson's concerns and encourages him to continue his efforts at rehabilitation, the court lacks authority to transfer him to home confinement.
Thompson was sentenced to 85 months of incarceration on February 14, 2020, and his anticipated release date is April 25, 2025. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) has been evaluating prisoners nationwide in order to determine which inmates face the most risk from COVID-19, pose the least danger to public safety, and can safely be granted home confinement.[ This effort is consistent with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), Pub. L. No. 116-136, 516 § 12003(b)(2), 134 Stat. 281 (2020), which provides that “if the Attorney General finds that emergency conditions will materially affect the functioning of the BOP, the Director of the Bureau may lengthen the maximum amount of time for which the Director is authorized to place a prisoner in home confinement.” Id. The CARES Act does not alter the statutory directive that the BOP has the sole authority to determine a prisoner's place of incarceration. 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b). The BOP's decision in this regard “is not reviewable by any court.” 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b). See United States v. Mitchell, 472 F.Supp.3d 403, 410 (E.D. Mich. 2020) (“The CARES Act does not authorize courts to transfer a prisoner to home confinement for the remainder of his sentence.”).
See Attorney General's Directives to BOP, available at https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/faq.jsp.
Because the court lacks the authority to determine a prisoner's place of incarceration, Thompson's request for home confinement must be directed to the BOP. Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Thompson's request for home confinement (ECF No. 21) is DENIED.