United States v. James Jones

WILLIAMS, Senior Circuit Judge:

Appellants Melvin Butler and James Antonio Jones are each serving lengthy prison sentences for drug offenses. Based on a recent retroactive amendment to the United States Sentencing Guidelines, they sought reductions of those sentences under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). Although the district court agreed that it could reduce their sentences, it declined to do so after considering the relevant factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). United States v. Butler, 130 F.Supp.3d 317 (D.D.C. 2015).

Appellants challenge those denials as substantively unreasonable. Before reaching…