State v. Barber

• Court: Superior Court of Delaware
• Decided: May 13, 2026
• Docket: 2409002803 and 2410005207
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE STATE OF DELAWARE

STATE OF DELAWARE, ) ) ) v. ) ) I.D. Nos. 2409002803; ) 2410005207 MAWAMI BARBER, ) ) Defendant. ) ) ) ORDER

This 13th day of May 2026, the Court enters the following Order:

1. Defendant Mawami Barber (“Barber”) is an inmate in the Delaware

Corrections system. He has been in its custody since October 2024 when he was

sentenced to two years of incarceration on a drug conviction, plus an additional six

months because the conviction violated a probation he was already on from a

previous drug conviction. 1 0F

2. Barber has moved for modification of his sentence before. In that

motion, he claimed previous sexual abuse and medical issues, urging the Court to

1 Barber pled guilty to a Class B Felony which included a two-year mandatory minimum sentence. See State v. Barber, Superior Court Criminal Docket, ID No. 2410005207, Docket Item (hereinafter “D.I. _”) 13. make the violation of parole and underlying conviction sentences run concurrently. 2 1F

The Court denied that motion in August 2025. 3 2F

3. The motion currently before the Court is filed under 11 Del. C. §4217,

which permits defendants to obtain compassionate release from a sentence based

upon a defendant’s “serious medical illness or infirmity.” 4 A “serious medical illness 3F

or infirmity” is a defined term under the statute and includes cognitive incapacity,

permanent physical incapacity, and severe illness. 5 This latter basis is the one relied 4F

on by Barber. Severe illness under the statute requires a showing that the applicant

suffers from a “significant and permanent or chronic physical or mental condition

that meets all of the following: 1. Requires extensive medical or behavioral health

treatment with little to no possibility of recovery” and “2. Significantly impairs

rehabilitation.” 6 5F

4. Pursuant to the Defendant’s application for relief, the Department of

Correction reviewed the Defendant’s medical history and current condition. In its

review, the Department recited that the Defendant is a 51-year-old male with Type 2

2 D.I. 15. 3 D.I. 16. 4 11 Del. C. §4217(a)(3)(a). 5 Id. §4217(c)(4). 6 Id. §4217(c)(4)(c). 2 Diabetes. 7 He had some collateral consequences – neuropathy and high blood 6F

pressure – as well as some unrelated conditions, to wit: substance use and bi-polar

disorder. In the Department’s assessment, “Mr. Barber’s medical conditions are

chronic but stable. His diabetes control has improved since admission to DOC.

Stability of his medical conditions depends on his compliance with medications and

treatment plans.” 8 It was the Department’s unanimous conclusion that Defendant’s 7F

healthcare needs could be met by the Department and did not support a “medical

illness or infirmity” basis for early release under Section 4217. 9 8F

5. The Court agrees with the Department’s medical assessment.

Defendant’s complaints about access to treatment are not sufficient to warrant a

finding that the Department cannot care for the Defendant’s chronic conditions. The

conditions he describes are common among the adult population in America and do

not rise to the level of “serious medical infirmity” contemplated by the

compassionate release statute. 10 9F His conditions are being controlled by the

Department. To find his health circumstances sufficiently debilitating as to warrant

7 D.I. 21. 8 Id. 9 Id. 10 According to the National Institute of Health, an estimated 38.1 million Americans over age 18 had diabetes in 2021. See Diabetes Statistics, NAT’L INST. HEALTH, https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/diabetes-statistics (last updated Jan. 2024). 3 release from incarceration under Section 4217 would subject a large number of the

inmate population to immediate release. In the Court’s view, this is a distortion of

the purpose of compassionate release for serious medical infirmity.

The motion for compassionate relief under Section 4217 is therefore DENIED.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

/s/ Charles E. Butler Charles E. Butler, Resident Judge

cc: Prothonotary Mawami Barber (SBI #01037379) Charles Oberly, Esq., Deputy Attorney General