A federal appellate court has given a sliver of hope to Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff in his bid to free himself from the eight life sentences he was given in 2007.
In a recent ruling, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ordered U.S. District Judge Frederic Block to revisit a motion by Supreme for a sentence reduction under the First Step Act, an Obama-era law designed to reduce sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine offenses.
The Second Circuit wrote in its decision that it wasn't clear Block followed federal guidelines when he denied Supreme's motion for a reduced sentence on a conviction for distributing 50 grams or more of crack cocaine, 500 grams or more of cocaine, and an unspecified amount of heroin.
The decision means that Block will have to reconsider Supreme's motion for a sentence reduction, but his prior ruling from 2020 shouldn't give Supreme too much optimism for a different outcome.
In 2020, Block acknowledged that Supreme was eligible for a reduced sentence on the drug charge but didn't want to give it to him, citing his "extensive criminal history and the heinous nature of the acts of violence attributable to him."
Supreme was convicted of two counts of murder for hire, in addition to several drug distribution charges. Prosecutors painted him as the ruthless, remorseless boss of a notorious criminal enterprise based in Queens, known as the Supreme Team. They alleged that the group was responsible for dozens of murders, made $200,000 per day in the drug trade, and became interwoven with legitimate businesses, including the rap industry.
Jurors found that Supreme paid $50,000 for the murders of Eric "E. Money Bags" Smith, an aspiring rapper from Queens, as well as Troy Singleton, a friend of Smith's who may have retaliated. Both murders occurred in 2001.
Since narrowly avoiding the death penalty but receiving life eight times over, Supreme has filed one legal motion after another either appealing his case or attempting to knock years off his sentence. This latest motion was an attempt to reduce the prison term for just one of his life sentences.
His attorney described it as part of Supreme's long-term goal of getting out of prison, writing that while Supreme's other life sentences remain, "any term of imprisonment that can be chipped away...permits McGriff to be in a marginally better position – which is not insignificant to McGriff – when McGriff files a motion for compassionate release – or some other form of collateral relief – in the future."
McGriff, 61, is serving his sentence at USP McCreary in Kentucky, records show.
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Written by: Nate Gartrell
