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Brooks Terrell, an inmate at the U.S. Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado appealed a lower court’s order denying his pro se application for a writ of habeas corpus and dismissing his case with prejudice.
Terrell challenged the calculation of his federal sentence, arguing he is entitled to additional good conduct time credits under the First Step Act. Because the Federal Bureau of Prisons correctly calculated Terrell’s good time credits, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court.
After Terrell was convicted of several federal felonies, a judge sentenced him to 382 months in prison. The passage of the First Step Act, which provides eligible inmates the opportunity to earn time credits for participation in certain programs, prompted the bureau to recalculate the amount of time for which Terrell was potentially eligible. Under the bureau’s policy, inmates who aren’t working toward their GED are only eligible for 42 days of good time credit, instead of 54 days. For nine years, Terrell didn’t make the required progress toward a GED, resulting in the loss of 108 days of good time credits. He has also been convicted of numerous disciplinary infractions, resulting in the loss of 674 days of good time credits.
Under the First Step Act, the bureau calculated Terrell was eligible for 1,718 days of good time credit at the outset of his sentence (54 days per year with the final year prorated). That number, however, was reduced to 936 days because Terrell didn’t make satisfactory progress toward earning a GED and was convicted of prison disciplinary infractions.
On appeal, Terrell claimed he was eligible for 2,625 days of good time credit. In his supplemental briefing, he alternatively asserted the congressional intent behind the First Step Act is to provide inmates with seven additional days of good time credit per year.
The 10th Circuit reviewed the case de novo.
The court noted the First Step Act made significant changes to the calculation of good time credit, but it doesn’t explicitly require restoration of good time credit revoked for disciplinary convictions. Terrell didn’t supply any authority to suggest otherwise.
While the 10th Circuit noted it hasn’t addressed this particular question, the Third Circuit in 2020 rejected the same argument in Powers v. Warden Allenwood USP. The 10th Circuit agreed with the Third Circuit. It affirmed the district court ruling.