Douglas Lee Barlow, a federal prisoner, appealed the denial of his motion for compassionate release filed under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). Barlow argued that the district court failed to give sufficient weight to his advanced age, his nearly four decades of incarceration, his rehabilitation, and his lack of danger to society. He also claimed the district court violated 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6) by granting compassionate release to a codefendant with a similar background. Additionally, Barlow contended that the district court erred by not appointing counsel to represent him during the motion proceedings.
The Fifth Circuit reviewed the denial of the compassionate release motion for abuse of discretion. The court noted that Barlow failed to demonstrate an error of law or a clearly erroneous assessment of the evidence. The opinion states that Barlow's disagreement with how the district court weighed the § 3553(a) sentencing factors is not a sufficient ground for reversal. Regarding the right to counsel, the court relied on precedent establishing that a defendant seeking a reduction in sentence does not have a constitutional or statutory right to counsel. The court further observed that the record did not reflect that Barlow requested the appointment of counsel or that such appointment would have been in the interest of justice.
The judgment of the district court is affirmed, meaning Barlow's sentence remains unchanged. This decision reinforces the high bar for overturning a district court's denial of compassionate release based on the weighing of sentencing factors. It also confirms that litigants in compassionate release proceedings must proceed without appointed counsel unless specific circumstances warrant it, which was not found in this case.
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