USA v. Thomas Cureton

Filing

Filed opinion of the court PER CURIAM. The district court has complied with the terms of our limited remand. We see no need for further proceedings in this case on the subject of Dean. The judgments of the district court, including the 444-month total term of imprisonment, are AFFIRMED. Frank H. Easterbrook, Circuit Judge; Michael S. Kanne, Circuit Judge and David F. Hamilton, Circuit Judge. [6916712-1] [6916712] [15-3575, 15-3581]

Case: 15-3575

Document: 59

Filed: 04/10/2018

Pages: 2

In the

United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
____________________
Nos. 15-3575 & 15-3581
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
THOMAS CURETON,
Defendant-Appellant.
____________________
Appeals from the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Illinois.
Nos. 10-CR-30106 & 10-CR-30200 — David R. Herndon, Judge.

____________________
ON REMAND FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
DECIDED APRIL 10, 2018
____________________
Before EASTERBROOK, KANNE, and HAMILTON, Circuit
Judges.
PER CURIAM. In his third round of appeals, we affirmed defendant Cureton’s convictions and sentences for using a firearm during a crime of violence and related crimes. United
States v. Cureton, 845 F.3d 323 (7th Cir. 2017). The Supreme
Court remanded for reconsideration in light of Dean v. United
States, 137 S. Ct. 1170 (2017), which disapproved our circuit

Case: 15-3575

2

Document: 59

Filed: 04/10/2018

Pages: 2

Nos. 15-3575 & 15-3581

precedents such as United States v. Roberson, 474 F.3d 432 (7th
Cir. 2007), barring judges sentencing defendants under 18
U.S.C. § 924(c) and other crimes from considering the mandatory minimum sentence under § 924(c) when deciding the
sentences for other crimes.
We then remanded to the district court for the limited purpose of giving that court an opportunity to determine
whether it would have imposed the same sentence on Cureton, now knowing that in light of Dean, it may consider the
mandatory sentence under § 924(c) when deciding the sentences for other crimes. United States v. Cureton, 882 F.3d 714
(7th Cir. 2018). The district court solicited and reviewed briefs
from the parties and acted promptly.
On March 21, 2018, the district judge issued an order explaining that he saw no basis for reducing Cureton’s sentence.
Judge Herndon quoted his own comments in resentencing
Cureton and Judge Murphy’s comments at Cureton’s original
sentencing. Both judges focused on the extraordinary viciousness of Cureton’s crimes, including the kidnapping and torture of the woman who was his victim. The order on limited
remand referred to Cureton’s “extreme” capacity for “violence and depravity” and said that any lower sentence would
not be sufficient to serve the purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
The district court has complied with the terms of our limited remand. We see no need for further proceedings in this
case on the subject of Dean. The judgments of the district
court, including the 444-month total term of imprisonment,
are
AFFIRMED.