Mr. Gileno moved for sentence modification of his one-year prison sentence to allow him to serve the remaining seven months of his sentence through home detention. Mr. Gileno argued that there existed "extraordinary and compelling reason[s]" to modify his sentence in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, his own pre-existing health conditions (including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, chronic back pain, anxiety, and allergies), and the BOP's failure to provide adequate medical care or to adequately plan for COVID-19. The court denied the motion, holding both (1) that Mr. Gileno needed to wait 30 days to allow BOP to take appropriate action before seeking judicial remedy and (2) that the facts did not establish an "extraordinary and compelling reason" for sentence modification.
United States v. Gileno, No. 19-CR-00161-VAB, 2020 WL 1307108 (D. Conn. Mar. 19, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
3/19/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Class Certification, Improved Conditions, Preliminary Injunction (PI), Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Connecticut
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Parole or Probation Violations, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail], Significant Criminal History
Compassionate Release Exhaustion Holdingsin Federal Case
An individual can move for compassionate release after 30 days have passed from the date the application was submitted to the warden, irrespective of whether the warden has granted or denied the request., Exhaustion is subject to equitable exceptions.
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Age, Anxiety, Asthma, High Cholesterol, Hypertension (high blood pressure), Other, Serious and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI), Chronic burning sensation, severe nerve pain, and long-lasting muscle spasms
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Not discussed
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Not Discussed
Litigation Database
Crowdsourced legal documents from around the country related to COVID-19 and incarceration, organized, collected, and summarized for public defenders, litigators, and other advocates. Created and managed by Bronx Defenders, Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project, and Zealous. Mostly federal court opinions, but now expanding to states and legal filings, declarations, and exhibits.
This resource is designed to help lawyers, advocates, researchers, journalists, and others interested in challenging, remedying, or drawing attention to the grave risk that Covid-19 poses to individuals who are detained.