Edwards v. Quintana
Filing
5
MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER: 1. Petitioner Edwards' petition for a writ of habeas corpus is DENIED. 2. This action is DISMISSED and STRICKEN from the Court's docket. 3. Judgment shall be entered contemporaneously with this Memorandum Opinion and Order. Signed by Judge Joseph M. Hood on 11/16/2015.(LC)cc: COR, Petitioner via U.S. Mail
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
CENTRAL DIVISION at LEXINGTON
ELMER STERLING EDWARDS,
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)
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)
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)
Petitioner,
V.
FRANCISCO QUINTANA, Warden,
Respondent.
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Civil No. 5: 15-214-JMH
MEMORANDUM OPINION
AND ORDER
***
***
Elmer Sterling Edwards is confined at the Federal Medical
Center
in
Lexington,
Kentucky.
Proceeding
without
counsel,
Edwards has filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to
28 U. S. C. § 2241. [R. 1]
The
Court
petitions.
conducts
an
initial
review
of
habeas
corpus
28 U.S.C. § 2243; Alexander v. Northern Bureau of
Prisons, 419 F. App’x 544, 545 (6th Cir. 2011).
A petition will
be denied “if it plainly appears from the petition and any attached
exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled to relief.”
Rule 4
of the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases in the United States District
Courts (applicable to § 2241 petitions pursuant to Rule 1(b)).
The
Court
evaluates
Edwards’s
petition
under
a
more
standard because he is not represented by an attorney.
v.
Pardus,
proceedings,
551
U.S.
the
89,
Court
94
(2007).
accepts
1
the
At
this
stage
petitioner’s
lenient
Erickson
of
the
factual
allegations as true and construes all legal claims in his favor.
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-56 (2007).
In his petition, Edwards contends that on May 21, 2014, the
United States Parole Commission (“USPC”) recommended his early
release from his prison term, but that the Bureau of Prisons
rejected that recommendation on October 2, 2014.
Edwards
seeks
immediate
release
from
prison
[R. 1, p. 8]
based
upon
the
assertedly wrongful rejection.
Edwards has provided a narrative history of his offense
conduct dating back to 1960, which involves at least five federal
convictions for bank robbery and/or use of a firearm, repeated
violations of the terms of his parole, and a murder conviction in
the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The prison terms imposed for these
offenses total more than 140 years. [R. 1-1]
As early as 1989 the
USPC issued a revocation warrant based upon Edwards’s repeated
violations of the term of his parole, which was subsequently lodged
as a detainer with state and federal authorities.
However, the
USPC voluntarily withdrew the 1989 warrant in 2009 shortly after
Edwards filed suit challenging its delay in acting upon the
detainer.
[R. 1-2, p. 6]
See Edwards v. Castillo, No. 2:09-CV-
2048-STA-CGV (W.D. Tenn. 2009).
Edwards is currently 77 years of
age, and his good conduct time release date is February 2, 2018.
See http://www.bop.gov/ inmateloc/ (last visited on November 13,
2015).
2
Edwards appears to predicate his argument based upon an
“Exhibit Y,” which he characterizes as the USPC’s “approval of
release” dated May 21, 2014.
[R. 1, p. 8]
However, the only
document Edwards attached from the USPC is a May 14, 2010, Notice
of Action indicating its withdrawal of the 1989 parole revocation
warrant.
[R. 1-2, pp. 6-7]
Further, it appears that in October
2013, Edwards began the process of seeking a reduction in sentence
pursuant to the “compassionate release” provisions found in 18
U.S.C. § 3582(c).
[R. 1-2, pp. 8-9]
The BOP rejected that request
on October 2, 2014, noting that while Edwards met the objective
criteria for a reduction in sentence, the BOP concluded that
correctional concerns - including his criminal history involving
violent behavior and use of firearms – warranted denial.
[R. 1-
2, p. 1]
The foregoing establishes that the BOP’s projected release
date is correctly premised upon pre-existing convictions for bank
robbery, specifically the 387-month sentence imposed by this Court
in 1991, see Edwards v. United States, No. 97-5276, 1998 WL 246373
(6th
Cir.
May
6,
1998),
not
upon
any
additional
period
of
incarceration which could have been – but which was not - imposed
by the USPC for Edwards’s alleged violation of the terms of his
parole as set forth in the 1989 parole violation warrant. Finally,
Edwards’s apparent challenge to the BOP’s decision to deny his
request for a reduction in sentence under the compassionate release
3
provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c) is not reviewable by this Court.
Crowe v. United States, 430 F. App’x 484 (6th Cir. 2011).
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that:
1.
Petitioner
Edwards’s
petition
for
a
writ
of
habeas
corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 [R. 1] is DENIED.
2.
This action is DISMISSED and STRICKEN from the Court’s
docket.
3.
Judgment shall be entered contemporaneously with this
Memorandum Opinion and Order.
This 16th day of November, 2015.
4
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