United States v. Merle Left Hand Bull

JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge.

Merle Left Hand Bull pleaded guilty to mailing a threatening communication in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 876 (1988). While incarcerated in Montana, he had written a threatening letter to his estranged wife after being told that she had abandoned their child. During sentencing, he was determined to be a career offender under Sentencing Guideline section 4B1.1, but the district court departed downward from the Guideline range. On appeal, Left Hand Bull argues that the court should have departed even farther from the range. He also argues that this crime was not a…