Former Gary boxing phenom Charles “Duke” Tanner has won his bid to reduce his life sentence, but he still must serve 30 years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano approved on Wednesday Tanner’s request to reduce his sentence.
Tanner, 35, was sentenced in 2009 to life in prison after a federal jury convicted him in 2006 of leading the Renegades, a local gang that trafficked thousands of pounds of crack cocaine and marijuana.
Federal sentencing guidelines at the time were harsher for crack cocaine than they were for other drugs, which helped lead to the life sentence.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission has since changed the amounts of crack cocaine needed for certain sentences, making it more in line with other drugs although not quite equal. The commission allowed the change to be applied retroactively, and Tanner applied for the reduction in December, arguing that the new guidelines called for a sentence of 30 years. Federal attorneys filed a notice a month ago saying they agreed with it.
In his request, which he filed without an attorney, Tanner accepted responsibility and said “…he is solely to blame for his current position in life.” He noted that he has not had any discipline violations since he’s been in federal prison and has taken more than 700 hours of education courses on various topics such as computers, parenting and health and wellness.
Tanner has spent about 11 years in prison already since his arrest and is currently housed at the Federal Correctional Institute in Greenville, Illinois. Federal law requires inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence, meaning Tanner could be released by 2030.
When Tanner was first arrested in the case in 2004, he was earning a reputation as a boxer, with a record of 19-0, and had scheduled a national bout.
