United States v. Castellanos, No. 03 CR. 156-08 (RWS), 2006 WL 3016313 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 23, 2006)
Just a quick note on this one. Castellanos was held in apparently awful conditions for approximately a year and a half in Columbia prior to his deportation to the United States. (Check out the opinion itself for Judge Sweet's description of those conditions and the support he relies upon.) And it seems that Judge Sweet was sympathetic to those conditions as a basis for downward departure. Castellanos, however, was subject to a ten year mandatory minimum sentence so there was not much that Judge Sweet could do. Nevertheless, the case is worth noting because it provides the background and support for the making of such a motion in circumstances in which it can have some impact.
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