UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

SOUTHERN DIVISION

______________________________________________________________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 15-20319 

ZACHARY BURDETTE,

Defendant.

________________________________/

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO REDUCE SENTENCE

Defendant Zachary Burdette pleaded guilty to distribution of heroin and fentanyl 

with a death resulting, 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C). (ECF No. 28, PageID.94.) On 

November 10, 2016, the court sentenced him to 120 months imprisonment. (ECF No. 

76, PageID.414.) His projected date of release is in March 2024. Find an Inmate, 

Federal Bureau of Prisons, https://www.bop.gov/mobile/find_inmate/byname.jsp (last 

visited Oct. 26, 2020). 

Defendant filed a “Motion to Reduce Sentence.” (ECF No. 127.) He argues the 

health risk of the Coronavirus Disease (“COVID-19”) justifies his immediate release. 

The government has filed a response and Defendant has replied. (ECF Nos. 130, 132-

34.) The court has reviewed the record and does not find a hearing to be necessary. 

E.D. Mich. L.R. 7.1(f)(2). Defendant’s motion will be denied.

A court may reduce a term of imprisonment if it determines “extraordinary and 

compelling reasons warrant such a reduction.” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). The court 

must also weigh the sentencing factors provided under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and 

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determine if a sentence reduction “is consistent with applicable policy statements issued 

by the Sentencing Commission.” Id.

U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 1B1.13 (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 2018) is 

the “applicable policy statement[]” with which courts must comply. 18 U.S.C. § 

3582(c)(1)(A). Section 1B1.13 of the Sentencing Guidelines explains that a defendant 

must “not [be] a danger to the safety of any other person or to the community” under 18 

U.S.C. § 3142(g) and must fit within at least one of four categories of “extraordinary and 

compelling reasons.” Those categories are: “Medical Condition of the Defendant,” “Age 

of the Defendant,” “Family Circumstances,” and “Other Reasons.” U.S. Sentencing 

Guidelines Manual § 1B1.13. The category of “Other Reasons” requires a determination 

from the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) that “there exists in the defendant's 

case an extraordinary and compelling reason other than, or in combination with, the 

reasons” outlined in the other three categories. Id. § 1B1.13 cmt. n.1(D). The BOP has 

released Program Statement 5050.50 to guide its determination of extraordinary and 

compelling circumstances.1 Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice, 

Program Statement 5050.50: Compassionate Release/Reduction in Sentence:

Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 3582 and 4205(g) (2019).

1 After the passage of the First Step Act in 2018, district courts in the Sixth Circuit 

remain divided over whether only the BOP Director may determine if a defendant’s 

circumstances fall within the category of “Other Reasons.” Compare United States v. 

Bolze, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, 2020 WL 2521273, at *7 (E.D. Tenn. May 13, 2020) (quoting 

U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 1B1.13 cmt. n.1(D)) (“[O]nly the ‘Director of the 

Bureau of Prisons’ can determine that such ‘other reasons’ exist.”), with United States v. 

Young, 458 F. Supp. 3d 838, 845 (M.D. Tenn. 2020) (“[F]ederal judges are no longer 

constrained by the BOP Director’s determination of what constitutes extraordinary and 

compelling reasons for a sentence reduction.”). 

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In all, a defendant seeking compassionate release must present “extraordinary 

and compelling” circumstances, must have § 3553(a)’s sentencing factors that weigh in 

his favor, must not be a threat to others as determined by § 3142(g), and must fit within 

one of the four categories in § 1B1.13 of the Sentencing Guidelines. 18 U.S.C. § 

3582(c)(1)(A); U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 1B1.13; see also United States v. 

Allen, 819 F. App’x 418, 419 (6th Cir. 2020).

Defendant cites several medical conditions in support of his release. He claims 

he has hypertension, depression, Attention Deficit Disorder (“ADD”), low IQ, and poor 

vision. (ECF No. 127, PageID.1328.) Although not raised in his motion, the government 

points out that Defendant qualified as obese in early to mid 2018. He hovered around 

the borderline of obesity, holding a body mass index (“BMI”) of 30.9 and 31.6. (ECF No. 

130, PageID.1346; ECF No. 131, PageID.1368.) Obesity is classified as a BMI of 30 or 

above. Defining Adult Overweight and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html (last visited Oct. 26, 2020). 

However, the court is presented with no evidence of his recent weight and whether he is 

currently obese. The government states the BOP has not weighed Defendant since mid 

2018. (ECF No. 130, PageID.1346.) 

Before the court may consider a motion for compassionate release, Defendant 

must exhaust administrative remedies. United States v. Alam, 960 F.3d 831, 834 (6th 

Cir. 2020) (quotation removed) (“When properly invoked, mandatory claim-processing 

rules must be enforced.”). Under § 3582(c)(1)(A), an inmate may seek compassionate 

release himself only if he submits a request for compassionate release to his warden 

and he has “fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the [BOP] to 

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bring a motion on [his] behalf or the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request . 

. . whichever is earlier.”

In order to fulfill the exhaustion requirement, Defendant’s request to the BOP 

must explain the basis for his release. Allowing a prisoner to present one description of

his circumstances to the BOP and another to the court would undermine the statutory 

scheme of administrative exhaustion that Congress purposefully designed. It would 

prevent “the agency [from] address[ing] the issues [in the request] on the merits,” the 

purpose of exhaustion. Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81, 90 (2006). BOP regulations state 

that a prisoner must present to the agency “[t]he extraordinary or compelling 

circumstances that the inmate believes warrant consideration.” 28 C.F.R. § 

571.61(a)(1). If the alleged “extraordinary or compelling circumstances” are not 

presented, id., the BOP has not had an opportunity to address them and the prisoner’s 

claim has not been fully exhausted. See Island Creek Coal Co. v. Bryan, 937 F.3d 738, 

746-47, 749 (6th Cir. 2019) (citing Woodford, 548 U.S. at 90-91) (recognizing issue 

exhaustion when statutes state “in more general terms . . . ‘administrative remedies 

[must be] exhausted’ . . . [and] an agency’s rules so require,” such as requirements that 

parties “indentify[] specific issues to be considered [by the agency]”); Sims v. Apfel, 530 

U.S. 103, 108 (2000) (finding that an agency regulation requires issue exhaustion when 

it states that an individual must “list the specific issues to be considered”).

Defendant did not explain or recite his current justifications for release to the 

BOP. Hypertension, depression, ADD, low IQ, and poor vision are nowhere mentioned 

in the request sent to the BOP. (See ECF No. 130-2, PageID.1359.) Thus, Defendant 

has failed to exhaust administrative remedies.

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Nonetheless, the court will address the merits of Defendant’s request, and finds 

that he does not qualify for compassionate release. Defendant admits he does not fall 

within the “Medical Condition of the Defendant” category in § 1B1.13 of the Sentencing 

Guidelines. (ECF No. 133, PageID.1439, Defendant’s Reply (“It’s clear that [Defendant] 

would not qualify for release . . . under [those] guidelines.”).) Defendant is not currently 

“suffering from a terminal illness.” U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 1B1.13 cmt. 

n.1(A)(i). Nor is he “suffering from a serious physical or medical condition . . . that 

substantially diminishes [his] ability . . . to provide self-care . . . and from which he . . . is 

not expected to recover.” Id. § 1B1.13 cmt. n.1(A)(ii). There is no indication that 

Defendant’s condition is deteriorating or that he is in a critical state, and he does not 

satisfy the Sentencing Commission’s policy statement. 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A); U.S. 

Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 1B1.13 cmt. n.1(A)(ii).

Defendant’s circumstances are also not “extraordinary and compelling.” 18 

U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). “Extraordinary” is defined as “exceptional to a very marked 

extent.” Extraordinary, Webster’s Third International Dictionary, Unabridged (2020). 

“Compelling” is defined as “tending to convince or convert by or as if by forcefulness of 

evidence.” Compelling, Webster’s Third International Dictionary, Unabridged (2020). A 

court in this district has described the requirements of “extraordinary” in the context of 

compassionate release “as beyond what is usual, customary, regular, or common,” and 

a “‘compelling reason’ as one so great that irreparable harm or injustice would result if 

the relief is not granted.” United States v. Sapp, Case No. 14-20520, 2020 WL 515935, 

at *3 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 31, 2020) (Leitman, J.).

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Defendant is a young, thirty-four-year-old man. (ECF No. 130, PageID.1345.) His 

essential hypertension is common and treatable. Hypertension affects “[n]early half of 

adults in the United States . . . or 45%.” Facts About Hypertension, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/facts.htm (last visited Oct. 

26, 2020). With proper monitoring, the condition can be successfully treated and 

controlled. See High Blood Pressure (Hypertension), Mayo Clinic, 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/diagnosistreatment/drc-20373417 (last visited Oct. 26, 2020) (“Changing your lifestyle can go a 

long way toward controlling high blood pressure.”); Prevent and Manage High Blood 

Pressure, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/prevent_manage.htm (last visited Oct. 26, 2020) 

(“Whatever your age, you can take steps each day to keep your blood pressure in a 

healthy range.”). While depression, ADD, low IQ, and poor vision are unfortunate 

conditions, like hypertension, they are not exceptional, extreme, or otherwise warrant 

Defendant’s immediate release. 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).

The outbreak of COVID-19 does not alter this analysis. Defendant is 

incarcerated at FCI Elkton. While the prison experienced a substantial outbreak of 

COVID-19 earlier in the year, the conditions there have improved substantially. FCI 

Elkton now has only one active case of COVID-19 among inmates and staff. COVID-19: 

Coronavirus, Federal Bureau of Prisons, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/ (last visited 

Oct. 26, 2020). 

The BOP has taken countermeasures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. For 

instance, all newly arriving inmates are tested and placed in quarantine. BOP 

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Implementing Modified Operations, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 

https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/covid19_status.jsp (last visited Oct. 26, 2020). 

Prisoners cannot leave quarantine until they test negative. Id. Symptomatic inmates are 

isolated, tested, and treated. Id.; Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice, 

Correcting Myths and Misinformation About BOP and COVID-19 (2020). 

While in prison, Defendant receives monitoring and treatment. (E.g., ECF No. 

131, PageID.1400 (notes of Defendant receiving a COVID-19 test in July 2020).) The 

court has few assurances as to Defendant’s access to quality healthcare if released. 

COVID-19 will remain a risk, and potentially a substantial one depending on 

Defendant’s chosen behaviors. See How to Protect Yourself & Others, Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/preventgetting-sick/prevention.html (last visited Oct. 26, 2020) (detailing actions recommended 

to mitigate the risk of contracting COVID-19). This is significant given the dangerous 

activities Defendant consistently engaged in prior to incarceration. He had a serious 

drug abuse problem, (ECF No. 130, PageID.1352-53), and, in September 2015, he 

overdosed on heroin twice in two days, both while on bond. (Id., PageID.1341.) He then 

operated a vehicle heavily intoxicated and struck a parked car. (Id., PageID.1341-42; 

ECF No. 37, PageID.135.) His bond was revoked. (ECF No. 130, PageID.1341-42; ECF 

No. 37, PageID.135.) While in prison, Defendant is separated from this dangerous, if not 

life-threating, lifestyle. 

To release Defendant, the court would need to speculate as to whether 

Defendant will contract COVID-19 while at FCI Elkton, whether he will develop serious 

symptoms, and whether his heath, and access to quality healthcare, will improve upon

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release. The court is not convinced the extraordinary remedy of compassionate release 

is warranted. Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED that Defendant’s “Motion to Reduce Sentence” (ECF No. 127) is 

DENIED.

 s/Robert H. Cleland / 

ROBERT H. CLELAND

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Dated: October 30, 2020

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was mailed to counsel of record 

on this date, October 30, 2020, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.

s/Lisa Wagner / 

Case Manager and Deputy Clerk

(810) 292-6522

S:\Cleland\Cleland\JUDGE'S DESK\C2 ORDERS\15-20319.BURDETTE.MotiontoReduceSentence.RMK.docx

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