`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
`EASTERN DIVISION
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`No. 1:03 CR 11
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`))
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`)
`)
`)
`
`UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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`v.
`
`MATTHEW HALE
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`OPINION and ORDER
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`Defendant has moved for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
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`§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). (DE # 308.) For the reasons that follow, the motion is denied.
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`I.
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`BACKGROUND
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`In 2002, defendant was the self-styled “Pontifex Maximus,” or supreme leader, of
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`a white supremacist organization known as the “World Church of the Creator” (also
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`called “Creativity”). United States v. Hale, 448 F.3d 971, 975 (7th Cir. 2006). Defendant
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`was convicted of soliciting the murder of Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow and of
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`obstructing justice; Judge Lefkow was targeted specifically for her Jewish heritage. See
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`id. Defendant was sentenced to 480 months imprisonment. Id. He has served just over
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`half of that sentence, and his projected release date is April 2, 2036. (BOP Inmate
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`Locator, https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/, accessed Feb. 16, 2023.)
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`II.
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`ANALYSIS
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`A.
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`Exhaustion
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`Section 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) requires a defendant to exhaust all remedies before
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`moving for compassionate release. Specifically, an inmate may file a request after
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`receiving a BP-11 response, a denial from the General Counsel, or the lapse of 30 days
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`Case: 1:03-cr-00011 Document #: 336 Filed: 02/16/23 Page 2 of 9 PageID #:4671
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`from the receipt of a request for compassionate release by the warden of the inmate’s
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`facility, whichever is earlier. 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1). The court assumes, for purposes of
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`this opinion only, that defendant has met the relevant exhaustion requirements.
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`B.
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`Compassionate Release Analysis
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`The court is authorized to reduce or modify a term of imprisonment, probation,
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`or supervised release if “extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a
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`reduction.” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). Also, any reduction must be “consistent with
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`applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.” Id. The relevant
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`Sentencing Guidelines policy statement, Section 1B1.131, provides that the court should
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`determine that “the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any other person or to the
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`community.” Finally, the court should consider the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C.
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`§ 3553(a), to the extent that they are relevant. 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i); U.S.S.G.
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`§ 1B1.13; United States v. Ugbah, 4 F.4th 595, 597 (7th Cir. 2021).
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`1.
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`Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons
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`Compassionate release is only justified if “extraordinary and compelling reasons
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`warrant such a reduction.” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). Defendant’s current medical
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`condition does not justify compassionate release in its own right– defendant is only 51
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`years old, and he has relatively manageable medical issues such as hypertension, a
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`sleep disorder, and sinus arrhythmia. Defendant argues, however, that he is at
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`1 The court employs U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 not as binding precedent, but as a guide.
`United States v. Rucker, 27 F.4th 560, 562 (7th Cir. 2022).
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`2
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`Case: 1:03-cr-00011 Document #: 336 Filed: 02/16/23 Page 3 of 9 PageID #:4672
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`heightened risk for complications related to COVID-19 because his religious beliefs
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`prohibit him from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
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`The Seventh Circuit has not directly addressed whether an increased risk of
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`infection as a result of a prisoner’s decision to decline vaccinations for religious reasons
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`can establish extraordinary and compelling circumstances justifying compassionate
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`release. Other district courts have generally concluded that such facts will not suffice.
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`United States v. Crockett, No. 19-CR-86, 2022 WL 1186571, at *8 (E.D. Wis. Apr. 20, 2022);
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`United States v. Malone, No. 12-CR-30330-DWD, 2022 WL 17738703, at *5 (S.D. Ill. Dec.
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`16, 2022); United States v. Norville, No. 10-CR-1046, 2021 WL 1731778, at *2 (S.D.N.Y.
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`May 2, 2021); United States v. Moore, No. CR-15-50110, 2021 WL 3666319, at *3, (D. Ariz.
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`Aug. 18, 2021); United States v. Weldon, No. 2:18-CR-112, 2021 WL 5041219, at *2 (D. Me.
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`Oct. 29, 2021); United States v. Anderson, No. 2:16-CR-00305, 2021 WL 5985134, at *2 (D.
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`Nev. Dec. 16, 2021) (“Anderson is choosing not to take that step, and he is free to make
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`that decision. However, refusing vaccination because of religious belief does not weigh
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`in favor of compassionate release.”).
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`Further, language in recent Seventh Circuit decisions suggests that
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`compassionate release might be considered only in cases of inmates medically unable to
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`receive or benefit from the vaccine. United States v. Cross, No. 20-3524, 2021 WL 6145626
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`at *1 (7th Cir. Nov. 15, 2021) (“The government says that Cross has refused the vaccine,
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`and Cross has not asserted that he is medically unable to receive or benefit from it.”);
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`3
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`Case: 1:03-cr-00011 Document #: 336 Filed: 02/16/23 Page 4 of 9 PageID #:4673
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`Ugbah, 4 F.4th at 597 (“Ugbah has never contended that he is medically unable to
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`receive or benefit from the available vaccines.”).
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`Defendant’s circumstances suggest he is at low risk of infection. The institution
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`housing him, USP Marion, currently has 0 inmate cases of COVID-19 out of an inmate
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`population of 1,330. Federal Bureau of Prisons, Coronavirus, https://www.bop.gov/
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`coronavirus/ (last accessed Feb. 16, 2023). Defendant also contends that he is kept in
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`solitary confinement, which suggests that his exposure to others is quite low.
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`
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`In sum, the court finds no legal basis supporting defendant’s contention that an
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`inmate’s refusal of a vaccine for religious reasons can contribute to the establishment of
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`“extraordinary and compelling” reasons justifying compassionate release. Even if legal
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`support could be found, the court is not convinced that the risk to defendant resulting
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`from a refusal to receive the vaccine, even when combined with his underlying medical
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`conditions, warrants a finding of extraordinary and compelling circumstances, given
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`defendant’s relatively manageable health conditions and defendant’s low risk of
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`infection at his particular institution. Nonetheless, the court affords defendant the
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`benefit of the doubt and assumes that he meets the “extraordinary and compelling”
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`standard, for purposes of this opinion only.
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`2.
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`Danger to Society
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`Next, the court must determine whether defendant would present minimal
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`danger to any person or to society if released. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13; 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g).
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`Defendant’s counsel argues that defendant is a “changed man” as a result of his
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`4
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`Case: 1:03-cr-00011 Document #: 336 Filed: 02/16/23 Page 5 of 9 PageID #:4674
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`conviction, and is therefore no longer a danger to anyone. (DE # 308 at 2.) However,
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`defendant does not seem to have parted ways with Creativity or the extremist ideas it
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`inspires. In 2021, defendant was disciplined for communicating his gang affiliation. (DE
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`# 322-1 at 1.) Defendant also pronounced his affiliation with and leadership of
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`Creativity in a recent First Amendment lawsuit. Hale v. Collis, No. CV 21-1469, 2022 WL
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`3016747, at *1 (D.D.C. July 29, 2022). In 2019, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, in
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`upholding prison mail restrictions on defendant, found there was “overwhelming
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`evidence in the record that Creativity poses an institutional security risk and that Mr.
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`Hale has sought to advance the white-supremacist goals of Creativity in ways that pose
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`a danger both inside and outside” of the prison. Hale v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 759 F.
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`App’x 741, 750 (10th Cir. 2019). These are not the hallmarks of a “changed man” who
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`can be trusted to re-enter society in a peaceful, law-abiding fashion.
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`Far from having changed course, defendant appears unabashedly loyal to the
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`ideology that motivated his crimes in this case. He has demonstrated that, when given
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`the opportunity, he is willing to act in line with that ideology at the expense of the
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`safety and liberty of others whom he believes are inferior to him and his race. The court
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`is confident that, if permitted early release, defendant would again immerse himself in
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`the culture of extremism that led him to where he is today, and that he would again
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`have a hand in orchestrating more acts to promote fear and violence. To describe
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`defendant as presenting a “minimal” danger to any person or to society would be a
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`5
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`Case: 1:03-cr-00011 Document #: 336 Filed: 02/16/23 Page 6 of 9 PageID #:4675
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`mischaracterization of what this court knows to be true about defendant’s history and
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`actions.
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`3.
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`Section 3553(a) Factors
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`Even if the court determined that defendant’s circumstances constituted an
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`extraordinary and compelling reason for a sentence reduction and that he would present
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`a minimal danger upon released, the court would still be required to consider the
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`relevant factors of Section 3553(a) in exercising its discretion. 18 U.S.C.
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`§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). Section 3553(a) states:
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`(a) Factors to be considered in imposing a sentence.—The court shall consider–
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`(1) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and
`characteristics of the defendant;
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`(2) the need for the sentence imposed—
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`(A) to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the
`law, and to provide just punishment for the offense;
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`(B) to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct;
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`(C) to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant; and
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`(D) to provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational
`training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most
`effective manner;
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`(3) the kinds of sentences available;
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`(4) the kinds of sentence[s] and the sentencing range established for--
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`(A) the applicable category of offense committed by the applicable
`category of defendant as set forth in the guidelines [issued by the
`Sentencing Commission . . . ;]
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`6
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`Case: 1:03-cr-00011 Document #: 336 Filed: 02/16/23 Page 7 of 9 PageID #:4676
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`(5) any pertinent policy statement guidelines [issued by the Sentencing
`Commission ...;]
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`(6) the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants
`with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct; and
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`(7) the need to provide restitution to any victims of the offense.
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`18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
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`In this case, a consideration of relevant Section 3553(a) factors weighs against
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`compassionate release. Defendant’s offense involved soliciting the murder of a federal
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`judge because of her ethnic background and heritage. Not only was this crime based in
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`a repugnant classification of humans as worth or unworthy depending on race or
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`ethnicity, this crime was directed at an officer of the court representing the basic
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`principles of democracy that underlie a peaceful society. The very nature of defendant’s
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`offense weighs strongly in favor of requiring defendant to serve his sentence in full, and
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`“one reason” is all that is needed to find that compassionate release should be denied in
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`light of Section 3553(a). Ugbah, 4 F.4th 595, 598 (7th Cir. 2021).
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`But, in this case, requiring defendant to serve the remainder of his sentence is
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`just in light of several other Section 3553(a) factors as well. First, this outcome will
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`promote respect for the law and serve as an important warning to others considering
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`similar crimes. Requiring defendant to complete his sentence also has deterrent value,
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`both for defendant as well as for others. Denying early release will also further the goal
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`of providing just punishment for defendant’s offense. Finally, society will benefit from
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`7
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`Case: 1:03-cr-00011 Document #: 336 Filed: 02/16/23 Page 8 of 9 PageID #:4677
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`defendant serving the remainder of his sentence, as he will have significant obstacles
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`thwarting him from orchestrating further crimes while incarcerated.
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`4.
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`Summary
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`As the court considers all of the factors outlined above, it is guided by the
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`principle that compassionate release is an extraordinary event. United States v. Pena, No.
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`2:15-CR-72-PPS, 2020 WL 3264113, at *1 (N.D. Ind. June 17, 2020); White v. United States,
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`378 F. Supp. 3d 784, 787 (W.D. Mo. 2019) (compassionate release is “a rare event”). This
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`case is not extraordinary.
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`Further, after giving defendant every benefit of the doubt, and after weighing all
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`of the relevant considerations, the court concludes that compassionate release is not
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`appropriate. While COVID-19 presents health and safety challenges in the prison
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`setting, and while the court assumes defendant’s religious-based vaccine refusal
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`constitutes an “extraordinary and compelling” circumstance, defendant has relatively
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`manageable medical conditions and is subject to a relatively low risk of infection
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`considering he is housed in an institution with no infected inmates where he is kept
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`largely isolated from others. Further, the court does not find that defendant would
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`present a “minimal” risk of danger should he be released early; rather, the court is all
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`but certain defendant would continue to engage in extremism upon release. The nature
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`of defendant’s crime, which demonstrates disregard for human life, the justice system,
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`and the importance of law-abiding behavior to the functioning of a thriving society,
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`8
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`Case: 1:03-cr-00011 Document #: 336 Filed: 02/16/23 Page 9 of 9 PageID #:4678
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`weighs heavily against compassionate release. A balance of all factors demands that the
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`court deny the motion.
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`III.
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`CONCLUSION
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`For the foregoing reasons, defendant’s motion for compassionate release is
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`DENIED. (DE # 308.)
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`Date: February 16, 2023
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`SO ORDERED.
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`s/James T. Moody
`JUDGE JAMES T. MOODY
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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`9
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`

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