When does 36, but not 34, equal 3?
When it’s in a federal court’s pre-sentencing report.
A man serving time for conspiracy and money laundering, discovered a typo in his report after about six years in prison that extended his stay by 3 1/2 years. Not noticed by his lawyer or the Court in 2006 when he pled guilty, the typo listed his offense level as 36, instead of 34, which resulted in a 17 1/2 year sentence.
After being able to check the report in 2012, the man brought a motion to correct the undisputed error in the court that had sentenced him. The motion was denied as untimely because it was not brought within a year after the sentence was imposed.
Last week, in a rare exercise of the power, President Obama granted the man clemency. He should be released now in 2015-instead of 2018.
Read more from the NYTimes.com here.