United States v. Spear

476 F.Supp.3d 426

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff,

v.Abraham Eugene SPEAR, Defendant.

Criminal Action No. 3:12-CR-323-D

United States District Court, N.D. Texas, Dallas Division.

Signed August 5, 2020

Camille Elizabeth Sparks, Amy J. Mitchell, John J. de la Garza, III, US Attorney's Office, Dallas, TX, for Plaintiff.

ORDER

SIDNEY A. FITZWATER, SENIOR JUDGE

Defendant Abraham Eugene Spear ("Spear") pleaded guilty to attempted enticement of a minor in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b). On September 6, 2013 the court sentenced him to 210 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a life term of supervised released. On June 25, 2020 Spear filed a motion to expand the record and a motion for sentence reduction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). For the reasons that follow, the court grants Spear's motion to expand the record and denies Spear's motion for sentence reduction.

I

To the extent Spear moves to expand the record to include evidence in support of his motion for sentence reduction, the motion is granted.

II

A district court lacks inherent authority to modify a defendant's sentence after it has been imposed. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c). But under § 3582(c)(1)(A), as amended by the First Step Act of 2018, "[a] court, on a motion by the [Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") ] or by the defendant after exhausting all BOP remedies, may reduce or modify a term of imprisonment, probation, or supervised release after considering the factors of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), if ‘extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction.’ " United States v. Chambliss , 948 F.3d 691, 692-93 (5th Cir. 2020) (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) ); see also id. at 693 n.1. The court's decision must also be "consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission." 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).

III

The court holds that Spear's motion fails to identify extraordinary and compelling reasons for a sentence reduction consistent with the Sentencing Guidelines policy statement. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) ; U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(1)(A) & cmt. n.1.^*

Spear is 38 years old. He is currently housed at FCI-Butner, a federal prison that he maintains has a population of 1157 inmates with 641 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 9 inmate fatalities as a result of COVID-19. Spear alleges that he has an overactive bladder and a family history of kidney failure ; that he was diagnosed with Gilbert's disease (a condition of the liver) as a teenager; that he has a history of suffering extreme drops in blood pressure and dehydration when infected with a virus or strep throat ; that his "health conditions ... render him more susceptible to severe illness and death if exposed to COVID-19" and he "faces a substantial risk of death if he remains in FCI Butner (LOW)," D. Br. 26; and that he cannot self-quarantine or practice "social distancing" in prison.

The court concludes that Spear has failed to demonstrate extraordinary and compelling reasons to warrant compassionate release. Although Spear generally describes his medical conditions, he does not present sufficient circumstances regarding these conditions to demonstrate extraordinary and compelling reasons for compassionate release. Essentially, it appears that Spear is at this point relying on the possibility that he may contract COVID-19 while in prison to argue that his other medical conditions will be exacerbated; but this possibility is insufficient without more. See United States v. Raia , 954 F.3d 594, 597 (3d Cir. 2020) ("[T]he mere existence of COVID-19 in society and the possibility that it may spread to a particular prison alone cannot independently justify compassionate release, especially considering BOP's statutory role, and its extensive and professional efforts to curtail the virus's spread." (citations omitted)). Thus Spear is not entitled to compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i).

Additionally, even if there are extraordinary and compelling reasons for a sentence reduction, the reduction must be "consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission." 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(ii). Under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(2), the court must determine that "[t]he defendant is not a danger to the safety of any other person or to the community, as provided in 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g)." Section 3142(g) requires the court to consider factors such as the nature and circumstances of the charged offense, the history and characteristics of the defendant, and the nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the community at large that would be posed by the defendant's release....