United States v. Andrews, No. 20-2768 (3d Cir. 2021)
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Andrews was convicted of 13 robberies in 2005, conspiring to commit the robberies, and brandishing a firearm during the crimes and was sentenced to 312 years’ imprisonment: 57 months for the robberies and conspiracy (18 U.S.C. 1951), and 3,684 months for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. 924(c); each additional 924(c) count then carried a 25-year mandatory minimum. The 2018 First Step Act revised 924(c) so that the 25-year mandatory minimum for subsequent offenses would not apply unless the defendant already had a final conviction for a 924(c) charge at the time of the offense. Had Andrews been sentenced today, his consecutive 924(c) convictions would each generate a statutory minimum of seven years. The change was not retroactive.
Andrews sought a modified sentence, 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A), a prisoner-initiated motion for compassionate release authorized by First Step Act. The court concluded that it was free to interpret “extraordinary and compelling” reasons required by the Act for and consider reasons beyond the four categories listed in the Sentencing Commission policy statement. The court concluded that the duration of Andrews’s sentence and the non-retroactive changes to mandatory minimums could not be extraordinary and compelling. The court also concluded that the policy statement provides helpful guidance and determined that Andrews’s remaining reasons collectively fell short of being extraordinary. The Third Circuit affirmed, noting the considerable discretion courts have in compassionate release cases and that the court was not bound by the policy statement.
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