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Federal Prisoner’s §2241 Petition Dismissed for Non-Exhaustion; Prisoner Sought Sentence Reduction for Revealing Weapons

A federal court in Michigan denied a federal prisoner’s motion for relief from judgment summarily dismissing his habeas corpus petition. The court found that the prisoner failed to show that he exhausted his administrative remedies.

Federal prisoner Carl Green filed a federal habeas corpus petition under 28U.S.C. § 2241 seeking a court order that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) reduce his sentence on the basis of exemplary conduct. He relied on 18 U.S.C. § 3582(C)(1)(A)(i) and alleged that a reduction was warranted because “he may have saved the life of a staff member” and “he alerted prison officials to a small cache of homemade weapons that he found.” The district court summarily dismissed the petition, finding that § 3582(C)(1)(A)(i) permitted early release only for serious and terminal medical conditions. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.

Green then moved for relief from judgment under FRCP 60(b)(5) and (6). He alleged “that a recent amendment to a policy statement interpreting § 3582 now permits a reduction in sentence for reasons other than a medical problem.” The district court denied Green’s motion, noting that prisoners are required to exhaust administrative remedies before filing a § 2241 petition, but Green “has not demonstrated that he exhausted administrative remedies for his new claim.” See:Green v. Morberry, USDC No. 2:06-cv-12410 (ED Mich S.D. 2008).

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Related legal case

Green v. Morberry