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Walk Away Escape Not Crime of Violence

By Jonathan Byrne

US v. Clay: Another round in the ongoing saga of whether a prior escape conviction triggers enhanced recidivist penalties. In this case, the prior conviction was a Georgia conviction for felony escape, incurred at the same time as a conviction for interference with government property. At issue was whether that escape conviction was a "crime of violence" as defined by the Guidelines, which would enhance the base offense level for Clay's offense of conviction, being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court held that it was a crime of violence and applied the Guidelines accordingly.The Fourth Circuit disagreed and vacated Clay's sentence. It noted that the Georgia escape statute covered at least three kinds of conduct: escape from a secure facility, failure to return from to custody, and walking away from an unsecured facility...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Circuit Blog on December 28, 2010 (boomark / email).