United States v. McCoy

As a young man, Thomas McCoy (defendant) was convicted on robbery and firearms charges under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). At the time of McCoy’s conviction, § 924(c) sentences were stacked, which substantially increased the mandatory minimum sentence. Years later, Congress passed the First Step Act (FSA), which in relevant part ended sentence stacking under § 924(c) and allowed criminal defendants to file motions for compassionate early release based on extraordinary and compelling reasons. Before the FSA was enacted, only the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) could petition for compassionate release. The FSA did not apply retroactively to automatically reduce sentences already in force. McCoy petitioned for compassionate release based on extraordinary and compelling reasons, arguing that his § 924(c) sentence would have been approximately 30 years shorter if he had been sentenced after the FSA was enacted. When McCoy filed his petition, McCoy had already been imprisoned for approximately half his life and had an exemplary disciplinary and rehabilitative record. After considering McCoy’s individual circumstances, the district court granted McCoy’s petition and reduced his sentence to time served. The United States (plaintiff) appealed, arguing that treating the severity of McCoy’s sentence and the disparity between § 924(c) sentences before and after the FSA’s enactment as extraordinary and compelling reasons for compassionate release violated federal sentencing guidelines and impermissibly gave the FSA retroactive effect.