WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court issued rulings restricting compassionate release within the federal prison system. The Court ruled that compassionate release cannot reduce a sentence lower under current penalty standards, nor can doubts regarding conviction validity serve as a basis.
Compassionate release has been authorized under federal law since 1984. Before the First Step Act in 2018, only the Bureau of Prisons could file motions. A 2013 Department of Justice report indicated an average of 24 releases per year prior to the reform.
President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act into law during his first term, allowing incarcerated individuals to file claims directly with federal judges. U.S. Sentencing Commission data indicates successful motions increased to 481 out of over 2,500 applications in fiscal year 2024.
The decision impacts individuals like Daniel Rutherford, convicted in 2003 of firearm offenses. Federal law then required consecutive sentencing for gun charges, resulting in a 42.5-year sentence. The First Step Act eliminated mandatory consecutive sentencing for similar charges, meaning he would face a 14-year minimum under current laws. Judges cited an unusually long sentence and changes in law for granting release in approximately 20 percent of successful cases in fiscal year 2024.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett noted Congress decided not to apply new sentencing laws to older cases. "Congress's decision to not make new sentencing laws apply to old cases was a common one, and therefore nothing 'extraordinary,'" Barrett stated. The U.S. Sentencing Commission was established by the 1984 law to define extraordinary and compelling reasons. The Commission issued a 2023 policy guideline stating an unusually long sentence could justify release under specific circumstances.
Joe Fernandez was convicted in 2014 of murder-for-hire and sentenced to life. A district judge granted him compassionate release and sentenced him to time served in 2022. This decision was based on concerns regarding the truthfulness of a star witness, and Fernandez received a longer sentence than co-conspirators who entered plea agreements.
The majority opinion stated prisoners contesting conviction legality must use habeas corpus petitions rather than compassionate release. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson offered differing views. Sotomayor stated, "Congress had directed the Sentencing Commission — 'not this Court' — to define extraordinary and compelling reasons." She noted 80 percent of applications are denied. Jackson stated, "An innocent man stuck in prison for life: Can there be a more 'extraordinary and compelling' reason to shorten a prison sentence than that?" The Supreme Court agreed to hear Maxwell v. Thomas next term regarding whether federal prisoners can use habeas corpus to challenge the Bureau of Prisons' handling of good time credits.