Opinion
CRIMINAL ACTION 3:11-00065 319-00180
01-14-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. QUENTIN J. PARKER
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND
ROBERT C. CHAMBERS, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
Pending before the Court is Mr. Parker's letter-form Motion for Compassionate Release. ECF No. 38. For the following reasons, Mr. Parker's Motion is DENIED. ECF No. 38
DISCUSSION
In December 2018, Congress enacted the First Step Act. See Pub. L. No. 115-391, 132 Stat. 5194. As part of the Act, Congress amended Section 3582 and enabled courts to reduce a term of imprisonment if “extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction.” See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i); Pub. L. 115-391, Title VI, § 603(b), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5239. But before defendants may request such a reduction, defendants must ask the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to do so on their behalf. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). If the BOP denies the defendant's request or does not respond within 30 days, the defendant may file a motion before the court. Id.
Here, Mr. Parker has not demonstrated that he exhausted his administrative remedies. Before a criminal defendant can request compassionate relief, they must first make such a request before the BOP. See id.; United States v. Thompson, 458 F.Supp.3d 482, 483-84 (S.D. W.Va. 2020). Even in the context of COVID-19, courts have found that a defendant's failure to exhaust administrative remedies precludes a district court from considering the merits of a defendant's motion for compassionate release. Thompson, 458 F.Supp.3d at 484.
As Mr. Parker has submitted no evidence showing that he made his request for compassionate relief to the BOP before making this Motion before the Court, this Motion is
DENIED
The Court DIRECTS the Clerk to send a copy of this Memorandum Opinion and Order to Defendant, counsel of record, the United States Attorney's Office, the United States Probation Office, and the United States Marshals Service.