The court granted Witter’s release pending sentencing. Even though Witter was subject to mandatory detention because he was convicted of a crime under the Controlled Substances Act with a maximum of over ten years, he had shown “exceptional circumstances” because of COVID-19. Witter has hypertension and took an ACE inhibitor to treat it, which increased his risk of COVID-19. The court also determined that as he was a nonviolent offender, he was neither likely to flee nor posed a danger to the community.
United States v. Witter, No. 19-Cr-568 (SHS), Dkt. 40 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 26, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
3/26/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
New York
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison]
Release Granted
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
19-Cr-568-SHS
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
S.D.N.Y.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Federal Detention Center [typically federal pretrial detention]
Name of Facility
Metropolitan Correctional Center
Legal Authority
Bail Reform Act, Bail Pending Sentence or Appeal, 18 U.S.C. § 3143, First Step Act Exhaustion, First Step Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)
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.