Bowens v. Harry et al
Filing
16
MEMORANDUM (Order to follow as separate docket entry). Signed by Honorable Christopher C. Conner on 5/6/2022. (mw)
Case 1:21-cv-01306-CCC-MP Document 16 Filed 05/06/22 Page 1 of 5
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
TERRELL BOWENS,
Petitioner
v.
LAUREL HARRY,
SUPERINTENDENT SCI CAMP
HILL, et al.,
Respondents
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CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:21-CV-1306
(Judge Conner)
MEMORANDUM
Petitioner Terrell Bowens, an inmate in state custody, filed this pro se
petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. After multiple
parole denials, he asks the court to order his immediate release. We will deny this
extraordinary request.
I.
Factual Background
Bowens is currently serving a 10- to 20-year sentence imposed by the Court of
Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, for criminal solicitation of
murder, conspiracy, and witness intimidation. (See Doc. 1 ¶ 7; Doc. 5 at 10-11, 16).
This sentence, when taking into consideration time Bowens had already served,
translated into a minimum release date of August 2017 and a maximum release date
of August 2027. (See Doc. 5 at 14). Bowens avers that he has been denied parole on
five occasions: April 2017, April 2018, August 2019, August 2020, and May 2021.
(Doc. 1 ¶¶ 7, 9, 13, 15, 17).
Case 1:21-cv-01306-CCC-MP Document 16 Filed 05/06/22 Page 2 of 5
In July 2021, following his fifth parole denial, he filed the instant Section 2254
petition in this court. (Doc. 1). He alleges that the parole denials were “arbitrary
and capricious” and thus violated his substantive due process rights under the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 1 (Id. ¶¶ 20, 24). He seeks
immediate release from confinement. (Id. ¶ 24; Doc. 13 at 18). Bowens’ petition is
fully briefed and ripe for disposition.
II.
Discussion
The Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause “contains a substantive
component that bars certain arbitrary, wrongful government actions regardless of
the fairness of the procedures used to implement them.” Newman v. Beard, 617
F.3d 775, 782 (3d Cir. 2010) (quoting Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113, 125 (1990)).
With respect to parole determinations, the United States Court of Appeals for the
Third Circuit has held that a parole board’s decision can violate an inmate’s
substantive due process rights if it applies “standards that are divorced from the
policy and purpose of parole” or other “impermissible criteria.” See Block
v. Potter, 631 F.2d 233, 236 & n.2, 238, 240 (3d Cir. 1980); see also Burkett v. Love, 89
F.3d 135, 139 (3d Cir. 1996) (“In Block, the . . . panel majority concluded that in
[using arbitrary criteria for denying parole], the [Parole Board] violated substantive
due process in grounding its action on constitutionally impermissible reasons.”
(internal quotation marks omitted)). Specifically, the specter of a substantive due
1
Bowens also references the Fifth Amendment, (see Doc. 1 ¶ 20), but because
he is in state custody for state crimes, his substantive due process claim implicates
the Fourteenth Amendment. See Citizens for Health v. Leavitt, 428 F.3d 167, 178 &
n.11 (3d Cir. 2005).
2
Case 1:21-cv-01306-CCC-MP Document 16 Filed 05/06/22 Page 3 of 5
process violation is raised only when “a parole board considers a factor that ‘shocks
the conscience.’” Holmes v. Christie, 14 F.4th 250, 267 (3d Cir. 2021) (quoting
Newman, 617 F.3d at 782). If, however, there is “some basis” for the parole board’s
decision, and that basis is not “constitutionally impermissible” or conscience
shocking, a substantive due process challenge must fail. See Coady v. Vaughn, 251
F.3d 480, 487 (3d Cir. 2001).
From the face of Bowens’ petition and copies of the Pennsylvania Parole
Board’s five denials, it is clear that his substantive due process challenge is
meritless. Without repeating each parole denial verbatim, the reasons for denying
parole include:
•
[Bowens’] risk and needs assessment indicating [his] level of risk to the
community;
•
Reports, evaluations and assessment/level of risk indicates [Bowens’] risk
to the community;
•
The negative recommendation made by the prosecuting attorney;
•
Other factors deemed pertinent in determining that [Bowens] should not
be paroled: Need for longer period of positive adjustment;
•
Other factors deemed pertinent in determining that [Bowens] should not
be paroled: the violence in [his] instant offense warrants a longer period of
stable adjustment;
•
[Bowens’] institutional behavior, including reported misconducts;
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[Bowens’] lack of remorse for the offense(s) committed.
(Doc. 1 ¶¶ 7, 9, 13, 15, 17; Doc. 5 at 25-33 (copies of Parole Board decisions)). In each
of Bowens’ denials, the Parole Board relied on a combination of the abovereferenced factors when denying his application for parole. (Doc. 5 at 25-33).
3
Case 1:21-cv-01306-CCC-MP Document 16 Filed 05/06/22 Page 4 of 5
Despite Bowens’ protestations to the contrary, none of the Parole Board’s
decisions appear to be arbitrary, conscience-shocking, or based on constitutionally
impermissible factors. 2 Nor has Bowens shown “willful noncompliance, bad faith,
[or] a sufficient inference of retaliation or vindictiveness on the part of the Board[.]”
Mickens-Thomas v. Vaughn, 355 F.3d 294, 310 (3d Cir. 2004). Bowens’ disagreement
with the Parole Board’s decisions does not establish a right to habeas corpus relief.
“[F]ederal courts, on habeas review, are not to ‘second-guess parole boards,’ and
the requirements of substantive due process are met if there is some basis for the
challenged decision.” Hunterson v. DiSabato, 308 F.3d 236, 246 (3d Cir. 2002)
(quoting Coady, 251 F.3d at 487). We are therefore constrained to deny Bowens’
habeas petition.
2
Bowens specifically challenges the District Attorney’s recommendation that
parole be denied. (See Doc. 13 at 11). This factor was cited in the Parole Board’s
2017 and 2021 denials. (See Doc. 5 at 25, 32). Bowens claims that the Assistant
District Attorney who made the recommendation to the Parole Board and provided
comments regarding why parole should be denied was not the prosecuting attorney.
(Doc. 13 at 11). Even if Bowens is correct, this discrepancy does not rise to the level
of a substantive due process violation. Bowens does not claim, for example, that the
Assistant District Attorney provided false or misleading information to the Parole
Board, or that the recommendation was made in a retaliatory or vindictive manner.
Cf. Barnes v. Wenerowicz, 280 F.R.D. 206, 222 (E.D. Pa. 2012) (explaining that
recommendation from prosecutor based on acquitted conduct and containing false
and misleading information “impermissibly led the Board to punish” prisoner by
denying parole).
4
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III.
Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, we will deny Bowens’ petition for a writ of habeas
corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. 3 We likewise decline to issue a certificate of
appealability, as Bowens has failed to make a substantial showing of the denial of a
constitutional right. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). An appropriate order follows.
/S/ CHRISTOPHER C. CONNER
Christopher C. Conner
United States District Judge
Middle District of Pennsylvania
Dated: May 6, 2022
3
We will also dismiss Bowens’ pending motion for discovery, (Doc. 7), as that
request is moot in light of today’s decision.
5
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