Clemency Clinic Wins Federal Compassionate Release for Clients in Cases of First Impression
As reported in several prominent blogs about sentencing, the Clemency Clinic, directed by Prof. JaneAnne Murray, secured a sentence reduction (colloquially known as compassionate release) in a federal case in the District of Montana for a 74-year-old client on home confinement until 2030. The Bureau of Prisons released Linda Reynolds in 2022 to home confinement because her age and medical conditions rendered her vulnerable to COVID-19. Because she had only served 10 years of her 22-year sentence for her low-level role in a drug distribution conspiracy, she still had eight more years left to serve in custody, which meant that now her brother's home, where she currently lives, would become her prison for that period.
In a motion drafted by Amy Cohen '24, the clinic explained how the concept of home confinement was only intended to last for about six months, to ease an individual's transition from prison to society. It was never intended for this kind of long-term imprisonment, which is potentially counter-productive to public safety. Moreover, in Ms. Reynolds' case, home confinement prevented her from obtaining needed medical care and low-income housing, "from obtaining a checking account, from engaging in work that would produce supplemental income, and from being able to fully interact with her family members and support system." In a case of first impression, Judge Brian Morris ruled that the difficulties of long-term home confinement, when coupled with other factors, amount to "extraordinary and compelling reasons" justifying Ms. Reynolds' compassionate release to a sentence of 140 months (or time-served).
This win comes on the heels of another compassionate release win for the clinic on March 20 for a female federal prisoner at Dublin FCI who had been sexually abused by a prison officer. Carlisle Ghirardini '24 and Anna Mitchell '24 drafted a motion, after visiting their client in California (the order remains sealed). That case is the first known case to apply the recently enacted U.S. Sentencing Guideline specifically authorizing compassionate release in the cases of documented sexual abuse by prison officers.