Compassionate release under § 3582(c)(1)(A)

Who can file, and where: under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), a compassionate release motion can be filed by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, or by the person in prison after asking the warden and then waiting 30 days from the warden's receipt of the request or finishing the Bureau's appeals, whichever comes first. The motion goes to the sentencing court, meaning the federal court that imposed the sentence.

Section 3582 is the federal statute on prison sentences. Part (c)(1)(A) is the compassionate release provision. This page explains § 3582 as a whole, then the compassionate release part in plain English and word for word (18 U.S.C. § 3582).

What 18 U.S.C. § 3582 covers as a whole

Section 3582 has three main parts that matter here:

• § 3582(a), imposing a prison term. When a judge decides whether to impose prison and for how long, the judge considers the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), recognizing that prison is not an appropriate way to promote correction and rehabilitation.
• § 3582(b), finality. A judgment that includes a prison sentence is final, even though the sentence can later be modified under subsection (c), corrected under Rule 35 or § 3742, or appealed and modified under § 3742.
• § 3582(c), the limited ways to change a sentence. The court “may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed” except in a few situations:
  • (c)(1)(A): compassionate release, explained on this page;
  • (c)(1)(B): as another statute or Rule 35 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure expressly allows;
  • (c)(2): when the Sentencing Commission later lowers the guideline range used at sentencing and makes the change retroactive. That is not compassionate release. Sentencing.net explains § 3582(c)(2) guideline reductions.

Only (c)(1)(A) is compassionate release. It is the one exception based on the person's circumstances now, such as serious illness, age, or a family emergency.

What does 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) say?

This is the federal law that lets a judge shorten a sentence someone is already serving. In plain English, it says:

• The person must ask the warden first.
• They can file in court 30 days after the warden receives the request, or sooner if they finish the Bureau of Prisons' appeals.
• The judge must find “extraordinary and compelling reasons” — reasons that are unusual and serious — or that a narrow age rule applies (age 70, 30 years served under a 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c) “three strikes” sentence, and a Bureau finding of no danger).
• The judge must weigh the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
• The reduction must fit the Sentencing Commission's rules (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13).

Since Rutherford v. United States, 608 U.S. 454 (2026), a sentencing change Congress did not make retroactive cannot be an extraordinary and compelling reason, alone or combined with other reasons. See who qualifies for the reasons that still count.

Do you have to ask the warden first

Yes, a person in federal prison must first ask the warden to file a compassionate release motion on their behalf. They can file in court after fully exhausting the Bureau of Prisons' administrative appeals, or 30 days after the warden receives the request, whichever is earlier (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). The warden's review explains what the warden gathers from that request. Request a consultation and tell us what happened.

How does a compassionate release motion get filed?

A compassionate release motion (a written request asking the court to reduce the sentence) is filed in the sentencing court after the warden step. A family member or lawyer can send the request to the warden on the person's behalf (28 C.F.R. § 571.61(b)), but the court motion is filed by the person in prison (on their own or through a lawyer) or by the Bureau of Prisons. See the process step by step and the overview of federal compassionate release.

How the statute, the guideline and Bureau policy fit together

Three sets of rules apply, and they come from different places:

• The statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), passed by Congress in 1984 and amended by the First Step Act of 2018. It decides who can file, when, and what the judge must find. See how the First Step Act changed compassionate release.
• The Sentencing Commission's policy statement, U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13. Congress told the Commission to describe what counts as extraordinary and compelling reasons (28 U.S.C. § 994(t)). The Commission is an independent agency in the judicial branch (28 U.S.C. § 991(a)). A reduction must be consistent with its policy statement, but where the statement goes further than the statute allows, it is invalid to that extent (Rutherford).
• The Bureau of Prisons' rules, 28 C.F.R. §§ 571.60–571.64 and Program Statement 5050.51 (September 3, 2026), which replaced Program Statement 5050.50. The Bureau is part of the executive branch. Its rules decide how the warden handles a request and whether the Bureau itself will file a motion. They do not limit what the judge can consider when the person in prison files.

The full text of the key part of the statute is below.

What does the text say word for word?

The court may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed except that—

(1) in any case—

(A) the court, upon motion of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, or upon motion of the defendant after the defendant has fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion on the defendant's behalf or the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request by the warden of the defendant's facility, whichever is earlier, may reduce the term of imprisonment (and may impose a term of probation or supervised release with or without conditions that does not exceed the unserved portion of the original term of imprisonment), after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable, if it finds that—

• (i) extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction; or
• (ii) the defendant is at least 70 years of age, has served at least 30 years in prison, pursuant to a sentence imposed under section 3559(c), for the offense or offenses for which the defendant is currently imprisoned, and a determination has been made by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons that the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any other person or the community, as provided under section 3142(g);

and that such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.

Source: 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), United States Code. For how this law fits with the regulations and the Sentencing Commission's rules, see statutes, regulations, and policy. See also the process and who qualifies. Criminal Center's guide to compassionate release under § 3582(c)(1)(A) sums up the same law in a few short answers.