SPENCER v. HUTCHINSON, 1:23-cv-00115

Petitioner Anetaeus Spencer is serving a 140-month sentence at FCI McKean for drug and firearms offenses, with a projected release date of November 13, 2025.
Spencer filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 seeking a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) should apply earned time credits (ETCs) under the First Step Act (FSA) to reduce his sentence.
The BOP has conducted at least ten assessments of Spencer since October 2019, each time finding his recidivism risk to be high.
According to BOP policy and statutory mandates, only inmates assessed as minimum or low risk are eligible for the application of ETCs to reduce their sentences or obtain prerelease/supervised release benefits.
Spencer remains classified as high risk, so the BOP refuses to apply his earned credits to accelerate his sentence or release date.
Both parties consented to have the case decided by a magistrate judge, who now issues a final judgment denying the petition.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether BOP must apply earned time credits to reduce Spencer's sentence despite high recidivism risk	Spencer argues ETCs should be applied regardless of risk level	BOP argues credits can only be applied if risk is low or minimum	Court holds BOP cannot apply credits until recidivism risk is low/minimum

(none with official reporter citations in this opinion)