United States v. White

687 F.Supp.3d 87

UNITED STATES of America, v. Antoyne P. WHITE, Defendant.

Criminal No. 96-0452 (PLF)

United States District Court, District of Columbia

Signed August 4, 2023

John Paul Gidez, Kacie McCoy Weston, Lindsey Rebecca Marcus, Thomas Anthony Quinn, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Michael Darnell Brittin, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for United States of America.

JoAnna Munson Perales, Public Defender, Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

Antoyne P. White, Inez, KY, Pro Se.

OPINION

PAUL L. FRIEDMAN, United States District Judge

Before the Court is Antoyne P. White's Motion for Reduction of Sentence Under the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act of 2016 [Dkt. No. 96]. Mr. White has been incarcerated for more than twenty-five years following his plea of guilty to charges of second-degree murder while armed, attempted armed robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. See Judgment [Dkt. No. 41] at 1. The Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act ("IRAA") requires that the Court reduce Mr. White's sentence if (1) Mr. White satisfies the statute's threshold eligibility requirements, and (2) the Court's consideration of eleven statutory factors demonstrates to the Court's satisfaction that Mr. White is not now a danger to the community and that the interests of justice warrant a sentence reduction. See D.C. Code § 24-403.03(a). Mr. White requests a reduction of his sentence to time served and between one and three years of probation. Mot. at 67. Upon careful consideration of the parties' filings, the relevant legal authorities, the arguments presented by counsel at the April 7, 2021 evidentiary hearing, the representations made at the August 3, 2023 resentencing hearing, and the entire record in this case, the Court will grant Mr. White's motion for a reduction of sentence.¹

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Antoyne White was seventeen years old when he planned and participated in the botched robbery that led to the tragic death of Mun Hon Kim and Mr. White's sentence of forty years to life in prison. Born in 1978, Mr. White grew up in Southeast Washington, D.C., in a home where he was exposed to substance abuse and violence at a young age. Mot. at 10-12; White Ex. 28 (Alfreda Nelson Letter); White Ex. 30 (2019 Personal Statement). His first interaction with the justice system occurred when he was fourteen years old. PSR ¶ 17. By then, he had already witnessed the shootings of four neighbors, two of whom died. Mot. at 17, 26. Mr. White has been incarcerated since November 26, 1996. See PSR at 2. He is now forty-four years old, having spent the last twenty-seven years of his life in jail and prison. See id. ¶ 30; White Ex. 4 (Plea Hearing Tr.) at 15-16 (Mr. White was arrested on June 16, 1996 and was incarcerated in Maryland before his federal sentence was imposed).

The offenses for which Mr. White seeks a sentence reduction occurred on June 11, 1996. See Indictment at 1. On that day, Mr. White and two other teenagers armed themselves with a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver and a Taurus .9mm semi-automatic pistol and drove through Northeast D.C. with the intent to commit a robbery. Id. ¶¶ 1-5. The three adolescents parked the car and identified a pedestrian, Gregory Paul, near the intersection at 46th and Jay Streets, Northeast. See id. ¶¶ 5, 7; Gov't Opp. at 2. A U.S. Postal Service mail truck operated by Mun Hon Kim, a mail carrier, was parked near the intersection. Indictment ¶¶ 7-8. Mr. Paul and Mr. Kim were talking when Mr. White and one of the other boys approached the mail truck. Id. Mr. White pointed a revolver in their direction and instructed Mr. Paul and Mr. Kim to get on the ground. Id. A nearby citizen yelled out a warning, and Mr. White pulled the trigger. Id. ¶ 9; see Mot. at 33. The shot Mr. White fired struck Mr. Kim in the head, and Mr. Kim died six days later. Indictment ¶ 9.

Proceedings began in this Court in 1996, when the government brought charges against Mr. White pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 5032, which provides procedures for charging juveniles with offenses in federal court. See United States v. A.W., Crim. No. 96-0452, 1997 WL 118408, at *1 (D.D.C. Feb. 20, 1997). Mr. White's counsel filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction in this Court. Id. After a hearing on the motion and a juvenile transfer hearing under 18 U.S.C. § 5032, Judge Harold H. Greene of this Court ordered that Mr. White be prosecuted as an adult in federal court. See id. at *3. A grand jury subsequently indicted Mr. White on March 18, 1998, charging him with both federal and D.C. Code offenses, including First Degree Murder of a United States Employee in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1111, 1114, and Possession of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). See Indictment.² After plea negotiations, the government filed an information charging Mr. White with Carrying a Pistol Without a License, in violation of D.C. Code § 22-3204(a)(1). See Superseding Information.

On June 30, 1998, Mr. White entered a plea of guilty to the one-count Superseding Information, charging Carrying a Pistol Without a License, D.C. Code § 22-3204(a)(1); Count Three of the Indictment, Conspiracy to Commit Robbery, D.C. Code § 22-105a; Count Four of the Indictment, Attempted Robbery While Armed, D.C. Code §§ 22-2092, 22-3202; Count Seven of the Indictment, Second Degree Murder While Armed, D.C. Code §§ 22-2403, 22-3202; and Count Ten of the Indictment, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, D.C. Code § 22-3815. See Indictment; Superseding Information; Plea Agreement at 1-2. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the government moved to dismiss all remaining counts. See Judgment at 1.

On November 3, 1998, Judge Greene sentenced Mr. White to the "maximum penalty allowed" for each count: twenty months to five years on the firearm offense; twenty months to five years on Count Three, conspiracy; fifteen years to life on Count Four, attempted armed robbery; twenty years to life on Count Seven, second-degree murder; and twenty months to five years on Count Ten, the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle offense. See White Ex. 5 (Sentencing Hearing Tr.) at 28:12-29:5; Judgment at 2. Mr. White's sentences on all counts were to run consecutively. Judgment at 2. In total, Mr. White received an indeterminate sentence of forty years to life in prison. Id. Mr. White appealed. See United States v. White, No. 98-3139, 203 F.3d 54 (Table), 1999 WL 963080, at *1 (D.C. Cir. 1999). The D.C. Circuit vacated the sentence imposed on the charge of Carrying a Pistol Without a License, finding a lack of federal jurisdiction, but it affirmed the convictions and sentences on all remaining counts. Id. As a result, Mr. White's sentence was reduced to a total of thirty-eight-and-one-third years to life in prison. See Memorandum Opinion and Order [Dkt. No. 78] at 5.

On September 22, 2020, Mr. White filed this Motion for Reduction of Sentence. The United States filed its opposition on November 24, 2020, and Mr. White filed a reply on December 8, 2020. The Court held a hearing on April 7, 2021, at which time both sides presented arguments and had the opportunity to present testimony and other evidence. See D.C. Code § 24-403.03(b)(2) ("The court shall hold a hearing on the motion."). Subsequently, on behalf of Mr. White, Dr. John M. Shields, Ph.D., ABPP, submitted a detailed mental health report, following a review of Mr. White's medical records, juvenile records, and an extensive interview with Mr. White. See Shields Rep. at 3. The government sought to introduce its own expert report, but the Court struck the report from the record [Redacted]. See Order [Dkt. No. 138].

On June 8, 2023, the Court directed the parties and the United States Probation Office to provide the Court with supplemental information related to Mr. White's reentry plan and potential conditions of probation. See Order [Dkt. No. 140]. Counsel for Mr. White submitted a supplement addressing Mr. White's reentry plans on June 22, 2023. See June 2023 Supp. The government submitted a supplement addressing Mr. White's post-release supervision on July 7, 2023. See United States' Response to Court's June 8, 2023 Order [Dkt. No. 142]. The Probation Office provided the Court with a written memorandum regarding Mr. White's supervision on July 13, 2023, see July 13, 2023 U.S. Probation Office Mem. [Dkt. No. 144], and a supplemental memorandum about Mr. White's housing and supervision conditions on July 25, 2023. See Residence Probation Mem. The parties submitted responses to the U.S. Probation Office's recommendations on July 28, 2023. See Response to Probation Memoranda and Court Order [Dkt. No. 147-1]; United States' Response to Probation Memoranda and Court Order [Dkt. No. 150-1]. The parties appeared for a sentencing hearing on August 3, 2023. See Order [Dkt. No. 143].

II. INCARCERATION REDUCTION AMENDMENT ACT

In 2016, the D.C. Council sought to overhaul the juvenile justice system in the District of Columbia. Recognizing the "growing evidence related to the pace of brain development in adolescents and how the developing brain impacts decision-making and culpability," 2016 Comm. Rep. at 2, the Council enacted broad reforms to the juvenile justice system in the Comprehensive Youth Justice Amendment Act of 2016 ("CYJAA"). See D.C. Law 21-238, Comprehensive Youth Justice Amendment Act of 2016, 63 D.C. Reg. 15312 (Dec. 7, 2016) (effective Apr. 4, 2017). Title III of the CYJAA is the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act ("IRAA"), which contains the sentencing modification provisions that authorize Mr. White's sentence reduction request. See id. at §§ 301, 306 (codified as amended at D.C. Code § 24-403.03). The IRAA provides a mechanism under which a person's sentence can be reduced if a court, after considering the enumerated statutory factors, determines that the person is not a danger to the community and that the...