United States v. Johnson
| Decision Date | 03 December 2021 |
| Docket Number | 98-CR-860(7) (ARR) |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. JAMES JOHNSON, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
NOT FOR ELECTRONIC OR PRINT PUBLICATION
Defendant James Johnson, moves for a sentence reduction, also referred to as a motion for compassionate release, on the grounds that his medical conditions-particularly, his chronic kidney disease-are extraordinary and compelling reasons for release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). The government opposes. For the reasons set forth below, I grant Mr Johnson's motion and reduce his twenty-five-year sentence to time served plus five years' supervised release with special conditions as set forth in the annexed amended judgment.
Mr Johnson is serving a sentence of twenty-five years' imprisonment for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); unlawful use of a firearm during a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C § 924(c)(1); and murder through the use of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(j)(1). Am. Crim. J., ECF 450. He is currently incarcerated at the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) medium-security facility in Schuylkill Pennsylvania (“FCI Schuylkill”) and is scheduled to be released on April 28, 2023. Gov't's Opp'n to Def.'s Third Mot. Compassionate Release 3 (“Gov't's Opp'n Third Mot.”), ECF No. 525-2.
Mr. Johnson has twice before moved this court for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). While I assume the parties' familiarity with these prior motions, I recount them insofar as they bear on Mr. Johnson's instant application. Mr. Johnson's first motion, brought pro se on April 27, 2020, sought relief on the grounds that his medical conditions and family circumstances warranted release. Def.'s First Mot. Compassionate Release 1 (“Def.'s First Mot.”), ECF No. 506. Specifically, Mr. Johnson's motion was based on his heart murmur and high blood pressure, as well as his need to take care of his elderly mother and disabled sister. Id. I denied that motion on May 5, 2020, finding that Mr. Johnson had not established extraordinary or compelling reasons for release. May 5, 2020 Op. & Order 4-5 (“May Op. & Order”), ECF No. 509. On December 16, 2020, Mr. Johnson moved for appointment of counsel to assist in filing a second motion, Def.'s Mot. Appoint Counsel, ECF No. 513; I granted this motion on December 21, 2020, Dec. 21, 2020 Dkt. Entry. Mr. Johnson subsequently moved pro se for a sentence reduction on January 21, 2021. Def.'s Second Mot. Compassionate Release (“Def.'s Second Mot.”), ECF No. 515. His application was supplemented by his appointed counsel on March 5, 2021. Def.'s Suppl. Mot. Compassionate Release ( ), ECF No. 518. In his motion, Mr. Johnson asserted two new medical conditions meriting release: allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, which Mr. Johnson alleged can make a person more susceptible to infection, and an elevated creatinine level based on bloodwork completed in 2015. Id. at 2-3, Ex. A. Mr. Johnson argued both conditions placed him at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19 infection. Id. Mr. Johnson further alleged that his age and the harsh conditions and insufficient COVID-19 safety protocols at FCI Schuylkill constituted additional extraordinary and compelling reasons for release. Id. at 4-5. I disagreed with Mr. Johnson and concluded that he had not satisfied his evidentiary burden. Mar. 31, 2021 Op. & Order 5 (“Mar. Op. & Order”), ECF No. 521. Of relevance, I concluded that although elevated creatinine levels may indicate kidney impairment, Mr. Johnson had not established that he was diagnosed with kidney disease or that his creatinine level had remained elevated since 2015. Id. at 5-6 (“Mar. Op. & Order”), ECF No. 521.
Thereafter and at the request of defense counsel, the government ordered bloodwork for Mr. Johnson to assess his current creatinine level. Def.'s Third Mot. Compassionate Release 2 (“Def.'s Third Mot.”), ECF No. 523. On April 29, 2021, Mr. Johnson's creatinine level measured 1.82 mg/dL, a 0.42-point increase since 2015. Id.; Suppl. Second Mot. 2. According to Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, a nephrologist and expert proffered by Mr. Johnson, these results confirm that Mr. Johnson has chronic kidney disease. Schwimmer Decl. ¶ 3, ECF No. 523-1. In light of this additional information, Mr. Johnson moves for a sentence reduction once more.[1] He incorporates the additional bases for release asserted in his two prior motions: allergic rhinitis, a heart murmur, his family circumstances, and, finally, the conditions at FCI Schuylkill.[2] The government opposes based on, inter alia, more recent bloodwork performed on Mr. Johnson in October 2021 that indicates a decreased creatine level of 1.52 mg/dL. Gov't's Opp'n to Def.'s Third Mot. Compassionate Release, Ex. A 1 (“Oct. Bloodwork”), ECF No. 525-3.
At the age of nineteen, Mr. Johnson was recruited to commit robberies by Ozem Thomas, an older man in the business of enlisting teenagers to commit crimes in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. See Letter in Anticipation of Resentencing 3 (“Resentencing Letter”), ECF No. 442; Resentencing Tr. 5:23-6:13, ECF No. 453. While Mr. Johnson had interacted with law enforcement only once before-at the age of sixteen and for an offense that resolved in a Youthful Offender adjudication-he was persuaded to join Mr. Thomas's enterprise by the promise of benefits. See Resentencing Letter 3; Resentencing Tr. 6:5-13. According to Mr. Johnson, Mr. Thomas would send his recruits to commit violent crimes, after which he would take them back to his house and reward them with drugs, alcohol, and money. Resentencing Tr. 5:23-6:4. During the commission of his first crime for Mr. Thomas, a robbery of New Clarkson Luncheonette, Mr. Johnson shot the store owner, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, once in the stomach; Mr. Ibrahim tragically died twelve days later. See Resentencing Letter 3-4. Mr. Johnson was arrested for his crimes on June 9, 1999, and has been incarcerated ever since. Id.
Following Mr. Johnson's convictions, his case took a series of procedural turns that ultimately led to his October 13, 2011 resentencing, over which I presided. See Gov't's Opp'n Third Mot. 1-2. In anticipation of his resentencing, Mr. Johnson, then thirty-three years old, submitted a letter to this court expressing remorse for the “terrible mistakes” he made as a teenager and conveying his intent to “make up for [his] wrongs” and use his “downfalls as [his] motivation to rise above and show [his] family and society that [he has] grown.” Def.'s Letter in Anticipation of Resentencing 2 (“Def.'s Resentencing Letter”), ECF No. 445. I sentenced Mr. Johnson to twenty-five years' imprisonment. Am. Crim. J. 3.
Mr. Johnson appears to have taken rehabilitative steps during his time incarcerated. Now age forty-three, Mr. Johnson has served over twenty-two years in prison, see Suppl. Second Mot., Ex. 8, 1 (“Summary Reentry Plan”), ECF No. 518-8, more than ninety percent of his sentence, Suppl. Second Mot. 7. During this time, he enrolled in dozens of courses, earned certificates in diverse coursework, including parenting, drug education, and communications, and worked as a compound orderly. See Summary Reentry Plan 1-2. Mr. Johnson has also maintained close relationships with members of his family while incarcerated, including his cousin, Rashuan Brumfield, and his mother, Cynthia Richardson. Suppl. Second Mot., Ex. 9, 2 (“Brumfield and Richardson Interviews”), ECF No. 518-9. Shortly after Mr. Johnson's arrest, his son, Jashaun, was born. Id. According to Mr. Brumfield, “[Mr. Johnson] has done the best he could to be involved in his son's life.” Id. When Jashuan was a child, Mr. Johnson would speak to his son by telephone regularly and write to him frequently; Ms. Richardson, who raised Jashuan as a child, would bring Jashuan to visit his father “as often as possible.” Resentencing Letter 5.
Mr. Brumfield and Ms. Richardson remain pillars in Mr. Johnson's life despite their decades apart. Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Mr. Johnson would speak to his cousin by phone two to three times a month and would communicate with him through the BOP's TruLinks system several times each week. Brumfield and Richardson Interviews 2. While Mr. Johnson and his mother now infrequently speak because of protocols undertaken by FCI Schuylkill to mitigate COVID-19 transmission, they used to speak daily and text good night each evening. Id. Twice a month, Ms. Richardson and Mr. Johnson's younger sister, Lakeria, would also visit Mr. Johnson in person. Id. According to Ms. Richardson, Lakeria, who is intellectually and physically disabled, looks up to Mr. Johnson and considers him her confidante. Id. at 3. Upon Mr. Johnson's release and successful reintegration into his community, Ms. Richardson plans to grant him guardianship of Lakeria in the instance of Ms. Richardson's incapacitation. Id.
The First Step Act allows criminal defendants to move for “[m]odification of an imposed term of imprisonment” before a federal sentencing court. 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c). To qualify for such relief, defendants must show: (1) that they have “fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion on [their] behalf or the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request by the warden of [their] facility, whichever is earlier”;[3] (2) that “extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant” a reduction in the term of...
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