United States v. Cain
| Decision Date | 24 November 2020 |
| Docket Number | 1:16-cr-00103-JAW-1 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DONALD CAIN |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maine |
A prisoner serving a sixty-month sentence for stalking in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2261A(2)(B) moves for a modification of his sentence and compassionate release under 18 U.S.C.§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). The Court concludes that the seriousness of the prisoner's offense and the continuing danger he poses to the public weigh against releasing him, even though his medical conditions and the danger of contracting COVID-19 favor his release. The Court dismisses the motion without prejudice.
On July 19, 2018, after Donald Cain's conviction for stalking in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2261A(2)(B), the Court sentenced him to sixty months of incarceration, three years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and no fine. J. (ECF No. 197). Mr. Cain filed a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on July 27, 2018. Notice of Appeal (ECF No. 199). The First Circuit affirmed this Court on July 1, 2019. J. (ECF No. 212). Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Cain filed an emergency motion for compassionate release on April 22, 2020. Emergency Mot. for Compassionate Release per "First Step Act" 3582(c)(1)(A) (ECF No. 244) (Emer. Mot.). The Court dismissed the emergency motion without prejudice on June 9, 2020 because Mr. Cain had failed to show that his motion was timely under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Order on Emergency Mot. for Compassionate Release (ECF No. 252).
Eight days later, on June 17, 2020, the Court received a renewed pro se motion for compassionate release from Mr. Cain. Renewed Mot. for Compassionate Release (ECF No. 253) (Def.'s Renewed Mot.). The Court appointed counsel for Mr. Cain on July 8, 2020. Appointment of Counsel & Scheduling Order (ECF No. 256). Through counsel, Mr. Cain filed an amended renewed motion for compassionate release on July 14, 2020. Def.'s Am. Renewed Mot. for Compassionate Release (ECF 257) (Def.'s Mot.). Once again, on August 11, 2020, the Court found that the motion was not timely under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Order on Mot. for Compassionate Release (ECF No. 262) (Order on Am. Renewed Mot.). The Court dismissed the motion without prejudice to permit Mr. Cain to "unequivocally establish that he has complied with the mandatory exhaustion of remedies provision of the First Step Act . . .." Id. at 7.
Mr. Cain again moved for compassionate release on September 21, 2020. Def.'s Second Am. Renewed Mot. for Compassionate Release (ECF No. 264) (Def.'s Second Am. Mot.). He incorporated his prior arguments and exhibits by reference. Id. at 2. On September 29, 2020 the Government responded. Gov't's Resp. in Opp'n to Def.'s Second Am. Renewed Mot. for Compassionate Release (ECF No. 267) (Gov't's Opp'n). To correct an error, the Government filed a supplemental memorandum on October 1, 2020. Suppl. Mem. in Supp. of Gov't's Resp. in Opp'n to Def.'s Second Am. RenewedMot. for Compassionate Release (ECF No. 268) . On October 1, 2020, Mr. Cain waived the right to file a reply.
Mr. Cain's most recent motion recounts the actions that his then-lawyer, Attorney MacLean,1 took after the Court's August 11, 2020 order. Second Am. Mot. at 1-3. It indicates that Attorney MacLean contacted the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to determine "how to effect service of [Mr.] Cain's RIS request on the BOP in FCI Oakdale I." Id. at 1. The BOP instructed Attorney MacLean to email the Oakdale Executive Assistant email inbox, which he did on August 19, 2020. Id. at 1-2. Attorney MacLean states he then submitted "an RIS from Donald Cain dated August 10, 2020, requesting home confinement pursuant to the First Step Act." Id. at 2. He attached the correspondence, attachment, and verification of email service. Id., Attach. 1, Attorney MacLean Email and Attachs. (ECF No. 264). The attachment confirms that on August 19, 2020, Attorney MacLean's legal assistant submitted, via email, a letter to the Oakdale Executive Assistant and a copy of a handwritten request Mr. Cain made to his "Unit Team and Warden" for home confinement and compassionate release on August 10, 2020. Id. at 1-3. Therefore, Mr. Cain contendsthat his motion for compassionate release is now timely because thirty days lapsed between August 19, 2020, the date Attorney MacLean submitted this information to the BOP, and September 21, 2020, the date Mr. Cain filed his most recent motion. Second Am. Mot. at 2-3.
Mr. Cain's latest motion incorporates his prior arguments and exhibits by reference. Id. at 2-3. These arguments come from Mr. Cain's First Amended Renewed Motion for Compassionate Release. Def.'s Mot. at 1-7. On the merits, Mr. Cain contends that the COVID-19 pandemic in combination with his underlying health conditions and BOP incarceration present an "extraordinary and compelling reason" that warrants a sentencing reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). Id. at 2 ().
First, Mr. Cain addresses conditions within the BOP and FCI Oakdale, where he is incarcerated. Id. at 3. He cites United States v. Ramirez, 459 F. Supp. 3d 333, 335 (D. Mass. May 12, 2020) for the proposition that "COVID-19 is particularly contagious in prisons because inmates are forced into close quarters without access to personal protective equipment." Id. (internal quotations omitted). He also cites a newspaper article from early April 2020 which describes FCI Oakdale as a "a focal point of the coronavirus pandemic inside the nation's lockups." Id. (internal citationomitted). According to reports from Mr. Cain, more than three-hundred inmates at FCI Oakdale tested positive during a two-week span in May and "[t]he lack of physical distancing inherent in a prison environment amplifies the potential for the transmission of COVID-19 inside FCI-Oakdale." Id. at 3-4. Mr. Cain cites his First Renewed Motion, in which he "noted that there is roughly a foot between the three bunkbeds in his cell-far less than the recommended six feet of social distancing." Id. at 4 (citing Def.'s Renewed Mot. at 2-3). He also states that "a previously infected individual was placed in his 15 x 12 foot cell." Id. (citing Def.'s Renewed Mot. at 3).
Second, Mr. Cain describes various medical conditions that he suffers from. Id. at 5. He claims that these "place him at a grave risk of serious complications or death should he contract COVID-19." Id. Citing information from the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) website, he avers that his underlying health conditions, which include Type 2 Diabetes, hyperlipidemia, syncope episodes, obesity, high cholesterol, adrenal insufficiently, and hypertension, put him at a higher risk of complications from COVID-19 than the average person. Id. All told, he says that the conditions of his confinement at FCI Oakdale and his medical conditions present an "extraordinary and compelling reasons" which "warrant [Mr.] Cain's release." Id. at 6. He suggests that he "will no doubt be far safer if he is released to self-quarantine at the home of his daughter in Wyoming . . .." Id.
Third, Mr. Cain argues that his release does not pose a danger to the public. Id. He states that although his "conduct was reprehensible, any risk of recidivism could be easily addressed through the imposition of strict conditions of supervisedrelease prohibiting phone and computer access." Id. He also observes that his "conduct, while appalling, did not involve any actual violence against the victim," that he "has never been convicted of a violent crime," that "his criminal history score is 1," and that he has had no disciplinary reports since entering BOP custody. Id. Thus, he concludes that modifying his sentence to a term of home confinement is warranted. Id. at 7.
The Government opposes Mr. Cain's motion for compassionate release. Before addressing the substance of Mr. Cain's claim for release, the Government recounts the procedural posture of the case, the BOP's efforts to combat COVID-19, and the legal standard for deciding motions for compassionate release. Gov't's Opp'n at 1-9.
The Government concedes that Mr. Cain has met 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)'s hybrid exhaustion requirement because thirty days have lapsed since Mr. Cain petitioned the warden at FCI Oakdale to move for his release to home confinement. Id. at 10-11. While acknowledging that "[t]he Government has previously argued that the requirements for filing a sentence-reduction motion . . . are properly viewed as jurisdictional" the Government informs that Court that it "now takes the position that the exhaustion requirement of § 3582(c)(1)(A) is a mandatory non-jurisdictional claim-processing rule." Id. at 11. Thus, "the Government concedes that more than thirty days passed between the [Mr. Cain's] August 19, 2020 request to BOP for relief under § 3582(c)(1)(A) and the filing of his Motion on September 21, 2020." Id. at 12.
The Government argues that the Court should deny Mr. Cain's motion, despite its timeliness. Id. at 13. Citing 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c), the Government notes that "a court can grant a sentence reduction only if 'extraordinary and compelling reasons' justify the reduction and 'such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.'" Id. It contends that "[t]he mere existence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which poses a threat to every non-immune person in the country" is outside the ambit of the policy statement and...
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