United States v. Melroy Johnson, Sr.

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 26-1143 ___________________________

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Melroy Johnson, Sr.

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Western ____________

Submitted: July 1, 2026 Filed: July 7, 2026 [Unpublished] ____________

Before LAVENSKI R. SMITH, ERICKSON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Melroy Johnson appeals the district court’s1 order denying his motion for a sentence reduction or compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). In

1 The Honorable Leonard T. Strand, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Iowa. his motion, Johnson argued that he was suffering from several serious health conditions that were life-limiting and irreversible; that compassionate release was warranted under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b); and that he would not pose a danger to any other person or the community. Following briefing, the district court reviewed Johnson’s criminal proceedings, including its analysis of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors at his original sentencing hearing; and, after reviewing Johnson’s medical conditions, concluded that his documented combination of health conditions met the criteria under section 1B1.13(b)(1)(A) for a serious and advanced illness with an end-of-life trajectory, thus establishing extraordinary and compelling reasons for sentence-reduction eligibility; but denied the motion upon concluding that the section 3553(a) factors did not support Johnson’s early release, given that the circumstances of his offenses and his criminal history were aggravating factors which outweighed the mitigating factors. Finding no abuse of discretion, see United States v. Fetters, 163 F.4th 513, 517 (8th Cir. 2026) (compassionate release can be denied after balancing § 3553(a) factors because it is “discretionary, not mandatory”), we affirm the judgment of the district court, and grant counsel’s motion for leave to withdraw. ______________________________

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