United States v. Walker

The government appealed defendant-appellee John Walker's sentence. Walker was a serial bank robber who pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery. Walker attributed his criminal history to an addiction to drugs and alcohol. Hoping to overcome this addiction, Walker asked for an opportunity to attend in-patient treatment before he was sentenced. The district court agreed and the treatment program appeared to be successful. Walker's success in the treatment program led the district court to impose a sentence of time served, giving credit for the 33 days spent in pretrial detention. The Tenth Circuit found this sentence was "unreasonably short" based on the statutory sentencing factors and its precedent. As a result, the Court reversed. View "United States v. Walker" on Justia Law