Compassionate Release

To qualify for Compassionate Release, an inmate must meet three primary conditions:

1. “Extraordinary and compelling reasons” for release must exist.
2. Inmates must not be a danger to others.
3. The Court must consider the factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
4. Inmates must have met the exhaustion requirement.

To determine whether an inmate might pose a danger to an individual or community upon release, the court generally looks at the factors in 18 U.S.C. 3142(g), part of the Bail Reform Act of 1984. Factors there include:

• Nature and circumstances of the initial offense.
• Weight of the evidence against a person.
• History and characteristics of the person.
• Nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the community that would be posed by the person’s release.
• Whether drugs or guns were involved in the alleged offense.

The Compassionate Release Statute also indicates that the court must consider the factors in 18 USC 3553(a). These are the same factors that are considered by a court in sentencing a person. Some of them are similar to the factors under 18 U.S.C. 3142(g). Ultimately, these factors consider whether a person would be sentenced the same way today as they were at the time. They include:

• Nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant;
• Need for the sentence imposed to:
  • reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment for the offense;
  • afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct;
  • protect the public from further crimes of the defendant; and
  • provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most effective manner;
• Kinds of sentences available;
• Sentencing range established for—
  • [the guideline range and criminal history category in the case]
• Any pertinent policy statement
• Need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct; and
• Provision of restitution to any victims of the offense.

The exhaustion requirement basically requires that an inmate has reached out to the Bureau of Prisons to request Compassionate Release before moving to federal court.

To fulfill this requirement, an inmate should firstly write to the Warden of their institution outlining the reasons they feel Compassionate Release should apply them. If the warden denies this request or if 30 days pass, an inmate is free to file a motion with federal court.

We also recommend that inmates engage in the “administrative remedy process” as part of this section after they receive a denial from their Warden. This includes a BP-9, BP-10, and BP-11. Although not strictly required, it is further evidence that an inmate has exhausted their remedies.

Although there is no silver bullet for these motions, our review of the case law indicates that the following things are important in these motions.

If your request has anything to do with your medical condition, then you must include your medical records. Usually, these records should all be obtained before you file with the court. In most cases, an inmate can request their BOP medical records themselves. If you must request these records through your lawyer, then the records can take several weeks because you and your attorney must complete an ID Verification and a FOIA request first. If, for some reason, you have trouble obtaining your records from the BOP, then this should be documented as well. You should note the names, dates, and positions of those who denied you access to your records.

To prove that your post-incarceration conduct involves evidence of rehabilitation, numerous documents from the BOP should be included: Your ISDS Report, IRP, Team Sheet, Individual Reentry Plan, certificates of any courses or leadership positions, and your PATTERN score. Importantly, these things help to demonstrate the third essential assertion that must be proven in a compassionate release case: rehabilitation.

Our research has indicated cases where individuals sought and received compassionate release and were assigned strict terms and conditions of supervised release as part of their reduction in sentence.  This could even include home confinement for a period of time or adding an additional period  of supervised release equal to the remaining amount of time left inside the walls of the prison.

Example:  An inmate has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release.  We seek compassionate release after 7 years (and as such, 3 years left on their sentence).  The court grants said compassionate release but adds three years (the same three years that he would have spent inside before being granted release) to his supervised release term.  

Of course we will discuss your options with you but we believe that this might lead to more consideration of your compassionate release case.