United States v. Israel ( 2022 )

Case: 21-10741 Document: 00516257131 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/28/2022
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
March 28, 2022
No. 21-10741
Lyle W. Cayce
Summary Calendar Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Kamau Alan Israel,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:14-CR-240-1
Before Wiener, Dennis, and Haynes, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Kamau Alan Israel, federal prisoner # 48851-177, appeals the district
court’s denial of his motion for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C.
§ 3582(c)(1)(A). He argues that he has shown extraordinary and compelling
reasons warranting compassionate release due to his medical conditions and
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 21-10741 Document: 00516257131 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/28/2022
No. 21-10741
lingering symptoms from a COVID-19 infection. He further asserts that he
does not pose a danger to the community as long as he is medicated for his
schizophrenia.
We review the district court’s decision to deny a prisoner’s motion
for compassionate release for an abuse of discretion. United States v.
Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691, 693 (5th Cir. 2020). The district court found that
Israel failed to show extraordinary and compelling reasons for release and,
alternatively, that it would not reduce Israel’s sentence as the 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a) factors did not weigh in favor of release.
Israel has not shown that the district court abused its discretion in
finding that the § 3553(a) factors weighed against his release. See Chambliss,
948 F.3d at 693-64. The district court judge—who also presided over Israel’s
sentencing—was uniquely situated to apply and balance the § 3553(a) factors
in considering whether compassionate release was warranted. Id. at 693.
The district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.
2