Demetrius Big Meech Flenory received some bad news today (February 11th).
A panel of judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit have upheld a lower court’s ruling, and denied Big Meech’s appeal for compassionate release.
Big Meech was hoping to be freed from Sheridan FCI in Sheridan, Oregon, where he is serving a 30-year sentence for running the Black Mafia Family (BMF) with his brother Terry “Southwest T” Flenory.
The brothers were convicted of running the Black Mafia Family to earn themselves a fortune from 1989-2007.
The Feds claimed BMF moved thousands of kilos of cocaine annually and laundered the money by purchasing luxury houses around the country, buying massive fleets of luxury vehicles, and scooping up millions in jewelry from Jacob the Jeweler, who took a trip to prison as well.
Big Meech received a 30-year sentence, while Southwest T was hit with 25 years in prison.
In April of 2020, the Flenory brothers filed for compassionate release, fearing they were susceptible to catching the coronavirus behind bars.
In May of 2020, Southwest T was released from his 25-year-prison sentence due to his elevated risk of catching the coronavirus, but a judge denied Big Meech’s request.
Today, Circuit judge Alice M. Batchelder upheld the lower court’s decision to keep Big Meech imprisoned.
The court claimed Southwest T was released to “home confinement,” which is different than compassionate release, which is a “sentence reduction.”
The court also revealed Big Meech wasn’t much better health than his brother, who suffers from blindness from a detached retina, takes daily medication, and wears prescription compression socks.
Furthermore, the appeals court ruled that Big Meech’s role as the top leader of BMF made him too much of a risk to be put back out onto the streets.
“None of the facts about Flenory’s brother (or his similarity to Flenory) changes any of the factors the court relied on: namely, protecting the public from further crimes, upholding the seriousness of the offense, promoting respect for the law, and deterring criminal conduct,” the Appeals court ruled.
“A court does not abuse its discretion by refusing to place sentencing disparity alone above the other factors. The district court did not misapply the law or rely on clearly erroneous facts in finding that Flenory did not show extraordinary or compelling circumstances,” according to the verdict.
The news comes as a highly anticipated crime drama on BMF is being produced by 50 Cent for Starz.