Opinion ID: 1467272
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: 2005: Statutory Interim Parole Hearing and the Current Habeas Petition

Text: On June 8, 2005, Furnari received another statutory interim hearing pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4208(h) and 28 C.F.R. § 2.14. At the time of the hearing the Parole Commission was scheduled to expire on October 31, 2005. During the hearing Furnari argued that information from Alphonse D'Arco in the form of trial testimony corroborating Casso's information factually was impossible and the Parole Commission should not consider the testimony in reaching its decision. The Parole Commission denied Furnari parole on July 8, 2005, and adhered to the 2011 rehearing date. On September 29, 2005, Congress extended the life of the Parole Commission for an additional three years to October 31, 2008, its current expiration date. Furnari appealed from the Parole Commission's July 8, 2005 order to the Board making the following claims: (1) the Commission exceeded its authority when it scheduled a rehearing in 2011; (2) his Category Eight severity rating was unjust because it was based on information from unreliable witnesses and factually was incorrect; (3) there was significant information that D'Arco was not credible; (4) the Parole Commission did not properly consider additional information regarding the credibility of the informants in the interim hearing; (5) his 100-year sentence was grossly disproportionate to his crimes and the Parole Commission should have considered this circumstance to be a mitigating factor when determining his parole eligibility; and (6) the Parole Commission should have been more lenient to him on the grounds of compassion, considering his age [2] and excellent behavior rating. On November 23, 2005, the Board rejected all of Furnari's arguments and thus upheld the Parole's Commission's order. On February 14, 2006, Furnari filed the habeas corpus petition, an appeal from the denial of which now is before us, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 in the District Court challenging the Parole Commission's July 8, 2005 decision and the Board's November 23, 2005 decision affirming the July 8, 2005 decision. He raised the following four claims in the District Court: (1) the Parole Commission violated 18 U.S.C. § 4206(c), section 235(b)(3) of the Sentencing Reform Act, and its own regulations, by scheduling a rehearing date past the date of its statutory expiration; (2) the Parole Commission's Category Eight severity rating lacked a rational basis; (3) the Board violated due process of law by failing to consider what Furnari considers to be exculpatory evidence; and (4) the Parole Commission should have considered his 100-year sentence to be grossly disproportionate and thus should have treated its length as a mitigating circumstance in its decision. By order entered on June 20, 2007, the District Court denied Furnari's petition. Furnari then filed a timely notice of appeal of the District Court's June 20, 2007 order to this Court. We now adjudicate that appeal.