UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY NORTHERN DIVISION AT ASHLAND

CIVIL ACTION NO. 25-23-DLB

RICHARD WHITTINGHAM PETITIONER

VS. MEMORANDUM ORDER

WARDEN CHRISTOPHER ENTZEL RESPONDENT

*** *** *** *** Federal inmate Richard Whittingham filed a pro se Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to

in which he argues that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) incorrectly determined that he is ineligible to earn First Step Act (FSA) time credits. (Doc. # 1). Whittingham’s petition is now before the Court on initial screening pursuant to

. The Court has reviewed Whittingham’s submission but will deny his request for relief. As an initial matter, Whittingham acknowledges that he was convicted of multiple federal crimes in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, including possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances in violation of

and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in violation of

(c). (See Doc. # 1 at 2). Whittingham was then sentenced to 84 months in prison for his § 841 conviction and 60 months in prison for his § 924(c) conviction, and the Eastern District of Michigan ordered those sentences to be served 1 consecutively, for a total of 144 months in prison. (See id. at 2; see also United States v. Richard Whittingham, No. 2:19-cr-20224, at Doc. # 53 (E.D. Mich. July 21, 2022)). This Court recognizes that the FSA allows a prisoner to earn time credits towards pre-release custody or supervised release if he successfully participates in evidence- based recidivism reduction programs and other productive activities. See

(d)(4). However, the FSA also provides that a prisoner is ineligible to receive such time credits if he is serving a sentence for a disqualifying offense, and the statute specifically includes a violation of

(c) as one such disqualifying offense. See

at § 3632(d)(4)(D)(xxii). Given Whittingham’s conviction under § 924(c), he is ineligible to earn FSA time credits, as the BOP determined. (See Doc. # 1-1 at 10). And while Whittingham tries to draw a distinction between his own § 924(c) conviction and the language of § 3632(d)(4)(D)(xxii), federal courts have recognized that § 3632(d)(4)(D)(xxii) renders inmates with a § 924(c) conviction ineligible to receive FSA time credits. See, e.g., Rodriguez v. Knight, No. 22-cv-6360,

, at *4

(D. N.J. Dec. 21, 2023) (“nothing in the language of § 3632(d)(4)(D)(xxii) indicates or is read to mean that Congress intended only a portion of the inmates with § 924(c) convictions to be ineligible for FSA earn time credits”). Thus, Whittingham’s petition is unavailing. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Whittingham’s Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to

(Doc. # 1) is DENIED and that this action is STRICKEN from the Court’s docket.

2 This 19th day of February, 2025.

Signed By:

> David L. Bunning DP Chief United States District Judge

G:\Judge-DLB\DATA\ORDERS\PSO Orders\Whittingham 25-023 Memorandum.docx