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 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

 EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

 SOUTHERN DIVISION 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

KAHIL WILSON, 

Defendant. 

 / 

 

Case No. 15-20281 

Honorable Nancy G. Edmunds 

 

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S EMERGENCY 

MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE [67] 

Pending before the Court is Defendant’s Pro Se Emergency Motion for 

Compassionate Release. (ECF No. 67.) Defendant requests that pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 

§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(I) the Court convert the remainder of his sentence to a term of supervised 

release with a condition of home confinement. Defendant contends his health condition 

and certain family circumstances constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons 

justifying this relief in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government opposes 

the requested relief and has filed a response. (ECF No. 69.) The Court has reviewed the 

record in its entirety and finds that a hearing on this matter is not necessary. For the 

reasons set forth below, the Court DENIES Defendant’s motion. 

I. BACKGROUND 

On November 7, 2016, Defendant pled guilty to three counts: felon in possession 

of firearms and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (Count 1); possession with 

intent to distribute controlled substances, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Count 3); 

and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 

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U.S.C. § 924(c) (Count 5). The Court sentenced Defendant to be imprisoned for a term 

of 120 months. 

Defendant is serving his sentence at FCI Edgefield in South Carolina. According 

to Defendant, he is scheduled to be released on October 6, 2023. An email attached to 

Defendant’s motion indicates he made a request to the warden of Edgefield FCI on March 

30, 2020, for “compassionate release” and “home confinement.” That request was 

subsequently denied. 

Defendant is 35 years old. He has served almost eighty percent of his sentence. 

He claims to suffer from asthma and bronchitis. He states in his motion that he is 

concerned for his health in light of the COVID-19 pandemic because inmates at his facility 

cannot adequately social distance. Defendant also claims to be facing a number of 

difficulties with his family. He states that if released from prison he intends to become the 

primary caregiver for his sixty-three-year-old mother, who recently suffered a stroke, and 

his sixty-four-year-old father, who recently suffered a heart attack. He also states that his 

seven-year-old son is struggling with emotional issues because he is scared that 

Defendant will not come home because of COVID-19. Defendant argues that these 

circumstances amount to extraordinary and compelling reasons warranting his release 

from custody. 

II. ANALYSIS

As amended by the First Step Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) authorizes courts to 

modify terms of imprisonment as follows (emphasis added): 

The court may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed 

except that—in any case—the court, upon motion of the Director of the 

Bureau of Prisons, or upon motion of the defendant after the defendant has 

fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of 

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Prisons to bring a motion on the defendant’s behalf or the lapse of 30 days 

from the receipt of such a request by the warden of the defendant’s facility, 

whichever is earlier, may reduce the term of imprisonment (and may impose 

a term of probation or supervised release with or without conditions that 

does not exceed the unserved portion of the original term of imprisonment), 

after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that 

they are applicable, if it finds that— 

(i) extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction ... 

and that such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy 

statements issued by the Sentencing Commission. 

18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) therefore requires that a defendant must satisfy both the 

exhaustion requirement and demonstrate that “extraordinary and compelling reasons” 

warrant a reduction of his sentence. 

In his motion, Defendant claims he has satisfied the exhaustion requirement and 

that his health conditions and certain family circumstances in the wake of the COVID-19 

pandemic are extraordinary and compelling reasons warranting compassionate release 

under § 3582(c). The Government agrees Defendant has exhausted the statutory 

prerequisites for seeking this relief. But the Government maintains Defendant has failed 

to establish extraordinary and compelling circumstances warranting his release. 

Specifically, the Government argues Defendant has failed to establish that he has a 

serious physical or medical condition that substantially diminishes his ability to provide 

self-care within prison. The Government also contends that the family issues identified 

by Defendant do not justify his release under § 3582(c). And the Government argues that 

even if Defendant demonstrated extraordinary and compelling reasons, consideration of 

the § 3553(a) factors require denying the motion. Having considered the record in this 

matter in its entirety, the Court agrees with the Government under the facts and 

circumstances presented here. 

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The United States Sentencing Commission has defined “extraordinary and 

compelling reasons.” See U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, comment n.1. There are extraordinary and 

compelling reasons for modification where “[t]he defendant is ... suffering from a serious 

physical or medical condition ... that substantially diminishes the ability to provide selfcare within the environment of a correctional facility and from which he or she is not 

expected to recover.” U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 comment n.1(A)(ii). An inmate’s family 

circumstances may also qualify as extraordinary and compelling reasons. See id. 

In this case, Defendant fails to establish extraordinary and compelling reasons 

warranting a modification of his sentence or his release from custody. Defendant does 

not establish that he suffers from a serious physical or medical condition that would 

constitute an extraordinary and compelling reason for a modification of his sentence. 

While Defendant claims to suffer from asthma and bronchitis, the record does not contain 

sufficient evidence to establish the severity of those conditions. To this end, as the 

Government points out, prison medical records show no sign that Wilson complained of 

or has been treated for asthma since 2017. 

The potential threat imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic does not change this 

analysis. Defendant’s risk of exposure to COVID-19 is the same as any other inmate and 

the concerns he raises, while valid, are equally applicable to almost every other inmate 

in federal custody. Defendant, however, does not demonstrate that he is within the 

category of individuals who face a potentially heightened risk of severe illness or death if 

or when they come into contact with the virus that has been found to amount to 

extraordinary and compelling circumstances in other cases. See United States v. 

Pomante, No. 19-20316, 2020 WL 2513095, at *6 (E.D. Mich. May 15, 2020). 

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Furthermore, Defendant has not established that his family circumstances warrant 

release. The fact that three years ago his father had a heart attack and his mother had a 

stroke, while unfortunate, does not in and of itself create a compelling reason to release 

Defendant. The same is true of his son’s emotional issues. While it is admirable that 

Defendant wishes to be released early in order to assist with caring for his parents and 

his minor child, Defendant has failed to establish that his circumstances are extraordinary 

and compelling in a manner that would entitle him to the relief he seeks. 

As final matter, the Court agrees with the Government that Defendant has failed 

to establish that he is no longer a danger to the community, or that consideration of the 

factors set forth in § 3553(a) weighs in favor granting the requested relief. Thus releasing 

Defendant to home confinement, even if he had presented extraordinary and compelling 

circumstances justifying such relief, would not be consistent with Section 1B1.13(2) or the 

§ 3553(a) factors. 

III. CONCLUSION 

Accordingly, for the above stated reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that 

Defendant’s Emergency Motion for Compassionate Release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 

3582(c)(1)(A) is DENIED. 

SO ORDERED.

s/Nancy G. Edmunds 

Nancy G. Edmunds 

United States District Judge 

Dated: June 15, 2020 

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record 

on June 15, 2020, by electronic and/or ordinary mail. 

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s/Lisa Bartlett 

Case Manager 

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