Compassionate release; 18 USC §§ 3582(c)(1)(A) & 3553(a); USSG § 1B1.13; A defendant’s “danger to the community” as the basis for denial; § 1B1.13(2); United States v. Elias

Because defendant-Sherwood was denied compassionate release exclusively due to his failure to satisfy § 1B1.13(2)’s requirement that a defendant not be a danger to the community, the court reversed the district court’s denial and remanded for application of the remaining § 3582(c)(1)(A) factors. Sherwood pled guilty to transporting visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and to possessing child pornography. He was sentenced to 108 months. He moved for compassionate release, arguing that his age, combined with his health risks, constituted “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances warranting relief. The government acknowledged that he satisfied that standard, but argued against release based on his continuing “danger to the community." The court noted that since the enactment of the First Step Act, courts may not use § 1B1.13 (danger to the community) as an independent basis for denying a motion for compassionate release. A district court “may deny a defendant-filed motion only when it finds either that no extraordinary and compelling reasons exist or that the § 3553(a) factors weigh against release.” Thus, the case had to be remanded to weigh those factors, which will allow the district court to consider whether Sherwood was likely to present a danger to the community if released. As the court presumed “the district court’s initial balancing of the § 3553(a) factors during Sherwood’s sentencing remains an accurate assessment as to whether those factors justify a sentence reduction,” he must show why that the analysis would be different if it took place today.