Opinion
CAUSE NO. 1:19-CR-63-LG-JCG
11-16-2020
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. KELONDA ZANDERS
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE
BEFORE THE COURT is the [225] Motion for Compassionate Release filed by the defendant, Kelonda Zanders. The basis for Zanders' Motion is based on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. She claims that she is at risk of severe illness if she were to contract COVID-19 due to her severe obesity, depressive disorder, and anxiety. She also asserts that she is likely to contract COVID-19 in prison due to the lack of sanitary measures and confined space. The Government opposes Zanders' Motion, arguing that she has failed to exhaust her administrative remedies.
A defendant must first satisfy one of the two exhaustion avenues before a court can consider a motion for compassionate release: (1) "after the defendant has fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion on the defendant's behalf;" or (2) "the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request by the warden of the defendant's facility." 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A); see also United States v. Allen, No. 1:15cr36-HSO-RHW-1, 2020 WL 3159180, at *2 (S.D. Miss. June 12, 2020); United States v. Martin, No. 3:16-CR-70-DPJ-LRA, 2020 WL 3065302, at *2 (S.D. Miss. June 9, 2020). The "lapse" language in the second exhaustion method applies only when the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") has failed to respond to a compassionate release request within 30 days of its submission. Allen, 2020 WL 3159180, at *2; Martin, 2020 WL 3065302, at *3. When an inmate's request is denied before the lapse of 30 days, she must fully exhaust administrative remedies before the Court may consider a motion to modify her sentence under the statute. In such cases, the defendant is subject to a four-step BOP grievance process. See 28 C.F.R. §§ 542.13-542.15; see also Petzolal v. Rostollan, 946 F.3d 242, 254 (5th Cir. 2019); Allen, 2020 WL 3159180, at *3.
Here, because Zanders has filed a request for a reduction in sentence to the BOP for relief, and the BOP denied Zanders' request (see Ex. D, at 2, ECF 225-5), Zanders must fully exhaust under the first exhaustion method. Thus, Zanders is subject to the four-step BOP grievance process and the Court may not modify her term of imprisonment until she has exhausted that process.
To the extent Zanders requests the Court modify her sentence to home confinement, the Court must note that it lacks the authority to order home confinement. See 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b); see also United States v. Adcock, No. 3:19-CR-00106, 2020 WL 2043811, at *3 (W.D. La. Apr. 28, 2020). --------
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the [225] Motion for Compassionate Release filed by the defendant, Kelonda Zanders, is DENIED.
SO ORDERED AND ADJUDGED this the 16th day of November, 2020.
/s/_________
LOUIS GUIROLA, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE