IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v.

SHAWN BROWN

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:

:

:

:

CRIMINAL ACTION

 NO. 04-532

 

MEMORANDUM

Bartle, J. May 18, 2022

Before the court is the motion of defendant Shawn 

Brown, acting pro se, for compassionate release and sentence 

reduction.

I

On January 26, 2005, a jury convicted Brown of 

possessing cocaine with intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. 

§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C)); using, brandishing, and discharging a 

firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime 

(18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(iii)); and possessing a firearm as a 

convicted felon (18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(e)). The court 

sentenced Brown on November 16, 2007, to a term of imprisonment 

of 420 months to be followed by a five-year period of supervised 

release. 

Brown is currently serving his sentence at the Federal 

Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey. He has served 

approximately 210 months and has credit for good conduct time of 

approximately 31 months. 

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II

As mentioned above, Brown’s motion for sentence 

reduction relies on 18 U.S.C. § 3582 as recently amended by the 

First Step Act. Section 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) provides that a court 

may order compassionate release for “extraordinary and 

compelling reasons” but only if the reduction in sentence is 

“consistent with applicable policy statements of the Sentencing 

Commission”:

The court may not modify a term of 

imprisonment once it has been imposed except 

that—

(1) in any case—

(A) 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 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 

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that such reduction is 

consistent with applicable 

policy statements issued by 

the Sentencing Commission.

Congress has also enacted 28 U.S.C. § 994(t) which 

provides the following:

The Commission, in promulgating general 

policy statements regarding the sentencing 

modification provisions in section 

3582(c)(1)(A) of title 18, shall describe 

what should be considered extraordinary and 

compelling reasons for sentence reduction, 

including the criteria to be applied and a 

list of specific examples. Rehabilitation 

of the defendant alone shall not be 

considered an extraordinary and compelling 

reason.

The application note 1(A) of section 1B1.13 of the 

Sentencing Guidelines explains that “extraordinary and 

compelling reasons” exist if the defendant is (1) “suffering 

from a terminal illness”; (2) “suffering from a serious physical 

or medical condition”; (3) “suffering from a serious functional 

or cognitive impairment”; or (4) “experiencing deteriorating 

physical or mental health because of the aging process.” The 

latter three grounds also require that the impairment 

“substantially diminishes the ability of the defendant to 

provide self-care within the environment of a correctional 

facility and from which he or she is not expected to recover.” 

A district court is not bound by the Sentencing 

Commission’s policy statement in deciding what is an 

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extraordinary and compelling reason. United States v. Andrews, 

12 F.4th 255, 259 (3d Cir. 2021). Still, the court may look to 

the policy statement as a guide, even if it is not ultimately 

binding. Id. at 260.

III

Brown seeks compassionate release because of his 

medical conditions. He maintains that he suffers from 

hypothyroidism and from Graves’ disease. Those conditions, he 

claims, place him at a higher risk for developing severe illness 

should he contract COVID-19. 

The court notes that the COVID-19 pandemic does not 

warrant the release of every federal prisoner with health 

conditions that make them more susceptible to the disease. See

United States v. Raia, 954 F.3d 594, 597 (3d Cir. 2020). 

Compassionate release is available only to defendants with 

medical conditions that place them at a high risk of developing 

severe illness from COVID-19. See, e.g., United States v. 

Spencer, 519 F. Supp. 3d 237, 249–50 (E.D. Pa. 2021).

Brown has not shown that he suffers from such a 

medical condition. The Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention does not consider either hypothyroidism or Graves’

disease to be a risk factor that heightens an individual’s risk 

of severe illness from COVID-19. See People with Certain 

Medical Conditions, Ctrs. for Disease Control & Prevention 

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(May 2, 2022), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/needextra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html; see also

United States v. Fields, Cr. A. Nos. 06-155-3 & 06-490-2, 2020 

WL 7640941, at *2 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 23, 2020). Furthermore, Brown 

has received a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine and a subsequent 

booster shot. Courts have overwhelmingly rejected petitions for 

compassionate release when a defendant is vaccinated and does 

not have a condition that heightens his risk of developing 

serious illness from COVID-19. See, e.g., United States v. 

Reed, Cr. A. No. 18-78, 2021 WL 2681498, at *4 (E.D. Pa. June 

30, 2021). Accordingly, the court finds that Brown has not 

presented extraordinary or compelling circumstances based on his 

medical conditions that warrant compassionate release. 

IV

Brown has not established an extraordinary and 

compelling reason that warrants his release under 

§ 3582(c)(1)(A). Thus, the court will deny the motion of Brown 

for a compassionate release or a reduction in sentence.

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