Once sentenced to life in prison on drug charges, Springfield man gets second chance
A Springfield man who was sentenced to life in prison on drug charges in 2012 could be out soon thanks to his self-taught legal knowledge and a Trump-era criminal justice reform act.
Christopher Holmes, 37, was re-sentenced in late August, dropping his term from life with no parole to 20 years. With the time he's already served plus "good time credits" for good behavior while incarcerated, Holmes could be released in as little as two years, according to his Springfield-based attorney Joshua Roberts.
"I haven't seen it before," Roberts said. "I think this is extremely rare."
Holmes was convicted in 2011 of conspiring to distribute cocaine. Federal prosecutors said he was the second-in-command for an organization that brought in drugs from Chicago and Dallas and sold them in Springfield.
Since he had two prior felony drug convictions on his record from Illinois, Holmes faced a mandatory life sentence under the federal "three strikes" rule. Holmes filed appeals at the time but lost and was sent to prison with no end date.
Six years later, in 2018, then-President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan piece of criminal justice reform legislation known as the First Step Act. One part of the law did away with mandatory life sentences for "three strike" offenders and changed the definition of what prior crimes were serious enough to count as a strike.
After the legislation passed, Holmes — without an attorney — filed a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus in Illinois, essentially arguing that one of his prior drug convictions did not meet the new criteria for a "strike" and thus he should be resentenced.
A judge in Illinois agreed. In August, Holmes went back before a judge in Springfield to be resentenced in the local cocaine ring case.
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At this new hearing, Judge Doug Harpool had the discretion of sentencing Holmes to anything from 10 years to life in prison. Harpool settled on a 20-year sentence after taking into account the facts of the case and Holmes's characteristics and prior criminal conduct.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri, which agreed that it was appropriate to resentence Holmes, had asked for a sentence closer to 27 years in prison, saying Holmes had been involved in the distribution of at least 50 kilograms of cocaine (a number Holmes's attorney objected to).
Roberts, who called Holmes "extremely intelligent," said Holmes has reformed over the last decade behind bars, completing numerous drug education programs, earning his GED, and working in his prison facility's laundry department.
"He has a good family support unit, so when he does get out he will have a group of people who care about him," Roberts said. “He will have every opportunity to be a productive citizen when he gets out.”
Holmes has a job lined up with his uncle once he is released and a place to live with family. Roberts said Holmes has been incarcerated at an understaffed prison facility in Florence, Colorado and thus he has spent much of the last 10 years in his cell since there are not enough guards to supervise yard time and other activities.
"Since you’re facing life, you’re in a maximum security facility," Roberts said. "And that’s hard time to do."
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Roberts said Holmes was "very, very happy" after his resentencing and is looking forward to a second chance back out in society.
An attempt to reach Holmes for comment for this report was not successful.
The Sentencing Project reported in 2019 that more than 2,000 people across the country had their sentences reduced in the first year after the First Step Act was passed.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield man resentenced in drug case after First Step Act passes
