Opinion
2:15-cr-00069-JDL-1
08-24-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. KOURTNEY WILLIAMS, Defendant.
ORDER ON MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE
JON D. LEVY, CHIEF U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE
Kourtney Williams, who is proceeding pro se, was found guilty on September 12, 2016, following a jury trial (ECF No. 240) of Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery, 18 U.S.C.A. § 1951(a) (West 2022); Possession of a Firearm by a Felon (Armed Career Criminal), 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(e)(1) (West 2022); and Using a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime or Crime of Violence, 18 U.S.C.A. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii). He was sentenced on September 22, 2017, to a term of imprisonment of 184 months to be followed by a term of supervised release of five years. In United States v. Lara, 970 F.3d 68, 74, 90 (1st Cir. 2020), the First Circuit vacated his conviction for Using a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime or Crime of Violence in light of United States v. Davis, 139 S.Ct. 2319 (2019), and remanded this case for resentencing. Williams was resentenced on June 16, 2021, to a term of imprisonment of 140 months to be followed by a term of supervised release of three years. He now moves for compassionate release (ECF No. 514) under 18 U.S.C.A. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) (West 2022), citing a variety of reasons.
A court may reduce a defendant's term of imprisonment under § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) only if “extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction.” Williams first cites the fact that he was resentenced after his successful appeal. This sequence of events is not an extraordinary and compelling reason warranting a reduction in his new sentence because the vacation of his conviction under 18 U.S.C.A. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) is already reflected in his current sentence.
He also claims that the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic qualifies as an extraordinary and compelling reason even for prisoners who do not have any particular medical vulnerabilities. The case he cites for this proposition, United States v. McCall, 20 F.4th 1108, 1114 (6th Cir. 2021), vacated, 29 F.4th 816 (6th Cir. 2022) (mem.), suggested only that people who are unable to receive or benefit from the COVID-19 vaccines may be able to show the necessary extraordinary and compelling reasons to warrant a sentence reduction. Williams does not allege that he is such a person.
Williams next argues that his sentence must be reduced in light of his pending appeal on the issue of whether his sentence must be vacated because of Borden v. United States, 141 S.Ct. 1817 (2021). The pendency of this appeal does not constitute an extraordinary and compelling reason warranting a reduction in his revised sentence; however, the First Circuit has heard oral argument on this matter and thus will address whether Williams is entitled to a second resentencing.
He also appears to argue that a two-level enhancement for “bodily injury” was applied to him erroneously because the Fourth Circuit has held that the enhancement requires a significant injury. See United States v. Lewis, 18 F.4th 743, 750 (4th Cir. 2021). At Williams's resentencing, I adopted the portion of the Presentence Investigation Report that stated that he participated in a home-invasion robbery in which the victims were beaten with a crowbar. Being beaten with a crowbar qualifies as a significant injury because “the victim's injuries were either ‘painful and obvious' or ‘of a type for which medical attention ordinarily would be sought.'” Id. (quoting U.S. Sent'g Guidelines Manual § 1B1.1 cmt. n.1(B) (U.S. Sent'g Comm'n 2021)).
Finally, Williams asserts that his release date is relatively soon and the restrictions put in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in prisons are burdensome. These considerations, without more, do not amount to an extraordinary and compelling reason warranting a reduction of his sentence.
For the foregoing reasons, Williams's Motion for Compassionate Release (ECF No. 514) is DENIED.
SO ORDERED.