Judge cuts 38.5-year bank robbery sentence to 20.5 (2021)

Originally published April 7, 2021. Statements about the law were updated in October 2026; the box below gives today’s rules.

What the law says now (October 2026). A federal judge can reduce a sentence for “extraordinary and compelling” reasons (reasons that are especially unusual and convincing). You must first ask the warden in writing. You can file in court 30 days after the warden gets the request, or sooner if you finish the Bureau of Prisons’ appeals (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). The judge also weighs the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). See who may seek compassionate release.

Changes in sentencing law. In Rutherford v. United States (May 28, 2026), the Supreme Court held that when Congress makes a sentencing change non-retroactive (meaning it does not apply to people already sentenced), such as the First Step Act’s end of “stacked” § 924(c) sentences, the gap between an old sentence and today’s sentence cannot be an “extraordinary and compelling” reason, alone or combined with other reasons. Some older posts here describe court wins on that theory; those wins are history, not today’s law.
Rehabilitation. By law, rehabilitation alone is not an extraordinary and compelling reason (28 U.S.C. § 994(t)). It can be weighed together with other reasons (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(d)).

Outcomes vary. A past result does not predict or guarantee the outcome of any other case.

In April 2021, a federal judge cut Derrick L. McCreary’s 38.5-year prison sentence to 20.5 years. The court pointed to how unusually harsh the sentence was, how well he had used his time in prison, and his low risk of reoffending.

Harsh Federal Sentence Reduced

United States v. Derrick

2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64243

Harsh federal sentence and good behavior lead to sentence reduction

His case

McCreary was in prison for his role in two armed bank robberies in January and February of 2002. He recruited others, scouted the banks ahead of time, and supplied clothes, unloaded guns, and a stolen car to the people who carried out the robberies.

No one was seriously injured in either robbery. In 2005, a jury convicted McCreary and his co-defendant, John Freeman Hunter, on five counts: conspiracy; armed bank robbery and possessing, using, carrying or brandishing a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.

McCreary was sentenced to a total of 38.5 years in prison, a very harsh federal sentence. The sentencing judge called it “harsh,” “really long,” and “plainly on the high side,” but said he was not free to impose a shorter sentence.

McCreary was 30 years old at the time of the robberies. He has now served 17 years and is nearly 50.

What he did in prison

McCreary has used his time in prison well. He earned his GED and took many business and rehabilitation courses. He also took several typing classes and classes on health and wellness. In all, he has completed more than 500 hours of coursework. He also has a job lined up for when he is released.

What the court decided

In 2021, because of McCreary’s unusually harsh federal sentence, his exemplary use of time in prison, and his low risk of recidivism (reoffending), the court granted him a reduction in sentence, cutting his term to 20.5 years.

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