USSG policy statements do not limit district court discretion when compassionate release motion is filed by the inmate

United States v. McGee, 2021 WL 1168980 (10th Cir., March 29, 2021): The Tenth Circuit joins the 2d, 4th, 6th and 7th Circuits in concluding that USSG § 1B1.13 does not apply to compassionate release motions filed by defendants. The panel disagreed with the 6th Circuit by finding that, although the First Step Act was not retroactive, district courts are not prohibited from granting a sentence reduction based in part on the fact that the FSA modified mandatory sentences, as long as the post-FSA disparity in McGee’s original sentence of mandatory life is not the only ground for granting relief. The panel remanded to the district court to examine whether there are unique circumstances that, in combination with the mandatory sentence it gave McGee under 21 USC § 841(b)(1)(A), constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons for a sentence reduction.