John David Thorpe v. U.S. Parole Commission

Summary

The Fifth Circuit held that under 18 U.S.C. § 4106A, the U.S. Parole Commission properly set a release date and supervised release term for a prisoner transferred from Mexico, treating the foreign sentence as the statutory maximum. The Commission did not err by calculating good time credits to set a release date of 71 months (less than the 84-month Mexican sentence) and adding a 12-month supervised release term, because the combined total (83 months) did not exceed the foreign sentence. The court also rejected challenges that the Commission failed to consider the prisoner's medical condition or abuse by Mexican officials, finding no legal violation.

Holdings

1. The Commission did not err because the total time (71 months imprisonment plus 12 months supervised release = 83 months) was less than the 84-month foreign sentence, and the Commission correctly applied the Guidelines by treating the statutory maximum as the expiration of the sentence less good time credits.
2. The Commission did not err in considering good time credits; the calculation of the release date based on good time credits was proper.
3. The Commission did not err because the record shows these factors were considered, and Thorpe pointed to no law violated by the Commission's decision.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Commission erred in imposing a release date and supervised release such that the total time exceeded the foreign sentence.
2. Whether the Commission erred in considering anticipated good time credits in setting the release date.
3. Whether the Commission erred in failing to consider Thorpe's health and abuse suffered.

Disposition

affirmed