UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ > No. 23-3524 │ v. │ │ MARIO D. ADAMS, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland. No. 1:14-cr-00230-1—Benita Y. Pearson, District Judge.

Decided and Filed: December 30, 2024

Before: MOORE, MURPHY, and BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judges. _________________

COUNSEL ON BRIEF: Andrew Byrd, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Kevin Bringman, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee. _________________

OPINION _________________

BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judge. Mario Adams, a defendant with a history of mental health issues, challenges the district court’s decision to give him the statutory maximum sentence of 24 months’ imprisonment for violating the terms of his supervised release. Adams contends that this sentence was procedurally unreasonable because the district court improperly considered his mental health as an aggravating factor in its sentencing determination. The district court’s sentence was based on permissible factors, not on Adams’s mental health status, so we affirm. No. 23-3524 United States v. Adams Page 2

BACKGROUND I. Relevant Prior Proceedings

In 2014, Mario Adams was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Before trial, the district court ordered a psychiatric evaluation to assess Adams’s mental competence. A forensic psychologist at a New York prison conducted the examination, and in January 2015, the district court concluded that Adams was not fit to stand trial. This finding led to his commitment to the Attorney General’s custody.

The psychologist’s report painted a troubling picture of Adams’s mental health history. During his teenage years, Adams was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia, paranoid type. As he grew older, he also began to display symptoms consistent with bipolar disorder accompanied by psychotic features. These mental health challenges were compounded by substance abuse issues. Adams began using drugs and alcohol at age twelve, leading to multiple stays in treatment facilities over the years. Throughout his life, Adams had amassed an extensive history of psychiatric hospitalizations and suicide attempts, further underlining the severity and persistence of his mental health challenges.

In the months following the initial evaluation, Adams underwent further competency assessments. In May 2015, a second psychologist also deemed him incompetent to stand trial. A third evaluation in November 2015, however, determined that he was competent. In March 2016, Adams stipulated to his competency and pleaded guilty. The district court sentenced him to 87 months in prison followed by a 36-month term of supervised release. II. Supervised Release Violations

In October 2020, Adams was released from prison and began his term