MadameNoire
Source: The Washington Post / Getty
After weeks of backlash regarding Gwen Levi’s case, U.S. District Judge Deborah C. Chasanow granted the 76-year-old a compassionate release on Tuesday, July 6.
MADAMENOIRE recently reported that after serving 16 years in prison facilities across the U.S., Levi was allowed to serve her sentence at home during the pandemic along with 4,500 other prisoners in order to protect their health—a temporary measure put in place by the Trump administration. Levi was reincarcerated on June 12, after failing to answer the Federal Bureau of Prisons calls on that day. At the time authorities tried to reach Levi, she’d been in a computer word-processing class.
After spending her “at home sentence” living in Baltimore and caring for her 94-year old mother, reconnecting with family members, volunteering, and trying to better her skills so that she could land a job — she was then placed in a D.C. jail to await transport to a federal prison.
The Washington Post, shared that Levi was discharged the same day she was granted a compassionate release. According to WaPo, Chasanow’s statement stated the Justice Department opposed Levi’s request for compassionate release due to her “criminal history that includes prior felony drug-trafficking and firearms convictions.”
“It did, however, acknowledge that she likely does not pose a significant danger to the community,” Chasanow also mentioned what the DOJ detailed.
Legal documents from July 6, noted in addition to her compassionate release, the Judge was reducing Levi’s sentence to time served. According to Chasanow’s statement, Levi “has done well on home confinement, the current question of the missed call notwithstanding.”
“Because of her release to home confinement, the most pressing initial concerns (COVID, age, and health) were addressed,” the judge noted, before finalizing, “The court concludes that it would do little (if anything) to serve the goals of sentencing to require her to return to full custody.”
Revolt TV reported that in the four-page ruling, Chasanow emphasized that Levi, a woman in remission for lung cancer, “took many courses, worked and completed drug education” while she was incarcerated.
According to the 76-year-old’s attorney Sapna Mirchandani, Levi will still have to check in with a probation officer. She’ll be allowed to request that supervision be terminated after a year.
