The First Circuit held, as a matter of first impression, that a district court considering a motion for compassionate release is not bound by U.S.S.G. 1B1.13. In doing so, the Court joined every other circuit to consider the issue, except the 11th Circuit, in recognizing that district courts have broad discretion to determine whether an inmate presents “extraordinary and compelling reasons” warranting relief. Here, the defendant was serving a mandatory life sentence, and the Court added that district courts are free to consider “non-retroactive changes in sentencing law on an individual basis, grounded in a defendant’s particular circumstances…” Even among the circuits that agree 1B1.13 is not binding, there is a split regarding whether non-retroactive changes in sentencing laws may be considered towards an inmate’s release.
Concurring, Judge Barron described the harsh sentences that were imposed prior to the First Step Act and distinguished Congress’s choice in the First Step Act to not make relief “categorically” retroactive while leaving open the the possibility for the First Step Act’s changes to be considered on an individual basis.
On appeal from the District of Massachusetts
Opinion by Selya, joined by
Concurrence by Barron
Click here to read the opinion.