govinfo:USCOURTS-mdd-1_06-cr-00575-2

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA * 
 *  
v.  *  Crim. No. CCB-06-575 
 *  
VICTOR WHITE  * 
 *  
*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *   *   *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    
 
MEMORANDUM 
Victor White is a sixty-three-year-old federal prisoner serving a 294-month sentence for drug 
trafficking and possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. Now pending is White’s 
motion for compassionate releas e pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c )(1)(A) (ECF 72). 1 White seeks 
relief based on underlying health conditions making him particu larly susceptible to serious illness 
related to COVID-19. The governme nt opposes the motion, (ECF 78 ), and White has replied, (80). 
For the reasons explained below, the motion will be denied. 
BACKGROUND 
 In May 2006, Baltimore County pol ice officers executed a search  warrant at a residence in 
Baltimore, Maryland where White  was a frequent guest. During th e search, officers recovered 33.3 
grams of heroin and 7.6 grams of cocaine, materials used to process drugs for distribution, $2,100 in 
cash, and two handguns. White was present at the residence at t he time of the search and admitted 
that the drugs, cash, and handguns recovered belonged to him. (ECF 62, Presentence Report ¶ 8). At 
that time, White was on supervised release from a 1991 federal conviction for possession with intent 
to distribute heroin (Crim. No. K-90-072). ((ECF 62, Presentenc e Report ¶ 33). On August 1, 2007 
White was convicted by a jury of possession with intent to distribute a mixture containing heroin and 
a mixture containing cocaine, i n violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841( a)(1), (b)(1)(C), and possession of a 
 
1 Through counsel, White filed a supplement to his pro se motion. (ECF 77). 
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firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). At sentencing, White was subject 
to an enhanced mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years on t he § 922(g)(1) count, because he 
had four prior felony convicti ons, including a 1976 conviction for statutory rape, a 1978 conviction 
for robbery with a deadly weapon, a 1984 conviction for distrib ution of cocaine, and the 
aforementioned 1991 conviction for drug trafficking. See 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). (ECF 62, Presentence 
Report ¶ 39–40). His guideline sentencing range was 262 to 327 months. (ECF 62, Presentence Report 
¶ 47; ECF 37, Sentencing Tr. at 8). The court sentenced White t o 294 months imprisonment. (ECF 
26, Judgment). 
In December 2018, Congress enacted the First Step Act. See Pub. L. No. 115-391, 132 Stat. 
5194. As part of the Act, Congress amended 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c),  which empowers courts to reduce 
a term of imprisonment if “extraordinary and compelling reasons  warrant such a reduction.” See 18 
U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i); Pub. L. 115-391, Title VI, § 603(b), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5239. Before 
the First Step Act was enacted, a court could review a prisoner’s sentence pursuant to § 3582(c)(1)(A) 
only “upon motion of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons” (“B OP”). Id. But under the amended 
statute, a court may conduct such a review also “upon motion of the defendant,” if the defendant has 
exhausted all administrative remedies to appeal the BOP’s failure to bring a motion, or if thirty days 
have lapsed “from the receipt of such a request by the warden o f the defendant’s facility, whichever 
is earlier[.]” Id. The court may authorize compassionate release if, after consid ering the factors set 
forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), th e court finds that “extraordinary and compelling reasons” warrant it. 
See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). 
 White, through counsel, submitted a request for compassionate release to the warden of Elkton 
FCI, where he is currently incarcerated, on December 1, 2020. (ECF 77-1). The government does not 
contest that White has properly exhausted his administrative re medies, nor does the government 
contest that extraordinary and compelling reasons make White eligible for a sentence reduction. 
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White argues that he is at risk of developing serious illness r elated to COVID-19 because he 
has hypertension (high blood pressure) and chronic hepatitis C.  (ECF 77-2, Medical Records at 2). 
Hepatitis C “is a liver infection that may result in long-term,  chronic infections affecting the liver.” 
United States v. Curry, No. CR ELH-17-0387, 2021 WL 130000, at *8 (D. Md. Jan. 14, 2021) (citing 
Viral Hepatitis: Hepatitis C Information , CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/he patitis/hcv/index.htm (last 
accessed Jan. 11, 2021)).2 And “[h]aving chronic liver disease . . . can make you more li kely to get 
severely ill from COVID-19.” COVID-19: People with Ce rtain Medical Conditions , CDC, 
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-
conditions.html (updated May 13, 2021).3 Compounding the risk to White is his age, see COVID-19: 
Older Adults , CDC,  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/older-
adults.html (updated June 9, 2021) (“Older adults are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19. . 
. . The risk increases for people in their 50s and increases in 60s, 70s, and 80s.”), and the mere fact of 
his incarceration, see, e.g., Coreas v. Bounds , 451 F. Supp. 3d 407, 413 (D. Md. 2020) (“Prisons, 
jails, and detention centers are especially vulnerable to outbr eaks of COVID-19.”); COVID-19: For 
People Living in Prisons and Jails , CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/corona virus/2019-ncov/need-extra-
precautions/living-prisons-jails.html (updated Mar. 5, 2021) (“Living in prisons and jails puts you at 
higher risk for getting COVID-19 because: it may be hard to stay at least 6 feet away . . . from other 
people; there may not be enough space to keep people with COVID -19 away from others; you may 
be sharing space with someone who has the virus and does not know it . . . ; staff or visitors may have 
 
2 Unpublished cases are cited for the soundness of their reasoning and not for any precedential value. 
3 While the court does not doubt that White’s high blood pressure impacts his life, and the CDC’s data collection shows 
that hypertension “can make you more likely to get severely ill  from COVID-19,” see COVID-19: People with Certain 
Medical Conditions , CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/corona virus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-
conditions.html (updated May 13, 2021), the scientific evidence  supporting this conclusion, at this time, “mixed,” see 
COVID-19: Underlying Medical Conditions Associated with High Risk for Severe COVID-19: Information for Healthcare 
Providers, CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/coron avirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-care/underlyingconditions.html (updated 
May 13, 2021). 
 
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the virus and not know it.”). The court thus agrees with the parties that White’s risk of severe illness 
from COVID-19 is an “extraordinary and compelling reason” to co nsider him for a reduction in 
sentence.4 As the court has previously held, the fact that White has rece ived the COVID-19 vaccine 
(ECF 78-1) does not preclude relief, but will be taken into account when balancing his risk of illness 
with the § 3553(a) factors. See United States v. Spriggs, No. CR CCB-10-364, 2021 WL 1856667, at 
*3 (D. Md. May 10, 2021).  
DISCUSSION 
White’s eligibility for compassion ate release does not, however , guarantee relief. The court 
also must consider the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) “to the extent that they are applicable[.]” 
See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Here, the § 3553(a) factors do not weigh in favor of release. The court 
must consider White’s history and characteristics and also ensu re that the sentence imposed reflects 
the seriousness of the offense, provides for adequate deterrence, and is sufficient to protect the public. 
See § 18 U.S.C. §§ 3553(a)(1), 3553(a)(2)(A)–(C). As explained above, White’s conduct was serious, 
and he has a lengthy criminal record which includes convictions  involving firearms and violence. 
While many of these convictions occurred when White was relatively young, White  historically also 
has done poorly on supervised release and probation. Following his first adult conviction, all but one 
of his subsequent felony convict ions occurred while White was o n supervised release or probation. 
(ECF 62 ¶¶ 25–34). Given this consis tent pattern of recidivism,  the court is not persuaded that a 
 
4 Under 28 U.S.C. § 994(t) the United States Sentencing Commissi on has the responsibility to define “what should be 
considered extraordinary and compelling reasons for sentence re duction” under § 3582(c) (1)(A). The most recent 
Sentencing Commission policy stat ement defining “extraordinary and compelling reasons” for sentence reduction, 
Guideline § 1B1.13, predates the First Step Act and, as the Fou rth Circuit recently held, is not a policy statement that 
applies to motions for compassionate release brought by defenda nts, because its plain text “constrains the entire policy 
statement to motions filed solely by the BOP, . . . and not by defendants themselves.” United States v. McCoy, 981 F.3d 
271, 281–82 (4th Cir. 2020) (internal quotation marks and citat ion omitted). In the absence of an “applicable policy 
statement[] issued by the Sent encing Commission” concerning wha t may be an “extraordinary and compelling reason” 
for compassionate release when a defendant brings a motion under § 3582(c)(1)(A), “district courts are ‘empowered . . . 
to consider any extraordinary and compelling reason for release that a defendant might raise.’” Id. at 284 (quoting United 
States v. Zullo, 976 F.3d 228, 230 (2d Cir. 2020)). 
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reduction in sentence to time-served would sufficiently reflect the seriousness of the offense, provide 
for adequate deterrence, or protect the public from further crimes by White.  
CONCLUSION 
For the foregoing reasons, White’s motion for compassionate release (ECF 72) will be denied. 
The associated motions to seal (ECFs 76, 79) will be granted to protect the confidentiality of personal 
information. A separate Order follows. 
 
 
    7/6/2021      _  _ / S / ______________________ 
D a t e        C a t h e r i n e  C .  B l a k e  
       U n i t e d  S t a t e s  D i s t r i c t  J u d g e  
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