Compassionate release FAQs: who qualifies and how to apply

What the law says now (October 2026). A federal judge can reduce a sentence for “extraordinary and compelling” reasons (reasons that are especially unusual and convincing). You must first ask the warden in writing. You can file in court 30 days after the warden gets the request, or sooner if you finish the Bureau of Prisons’ appeals (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). The judge also weighs the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). See who may seek compassionate release.

Changes in sentencing law. In Rutherford v. United States (May 28, 2026), the Supreme Court held that when Congress makes a sentencing change non-retroactive (meaning it does not apply to people already sentenced), such as the First Step Act’s end of “stacked” § 924(c) sentences, the gap between an old sentence and today’s sentence cannot be an “extraordinary and compelling” reason, alone or combined with other reasons. Some older posts here describe court wins on that theory; those wins are history, not today’s law.
The Sentencing Commission’s policy statement. Since November 1, 2023, U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 applies to motions filed by prisoners as well as by the Bureau of Prisons, and a reduction must be consistent with it (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). Posts from 2020–2023 that say courts were “not bound” by it describe the law before that date. Rutherford (2026) held the policy statement invalid to the extent it lets a non-retroactive change in law count as a reason.
Bureau of Prisons rules. The Bureau’s current policy is Program Statement 5050.51 (September 3, 2026). It has no 18-month life-expectancy rule, it dropped the child-caregiver, spouse-caregiver, and “other elderly” categories, and it lets people in halfway houses or on home confinement apply.
Family circumstances. A court may consider the death or incapacitation of the caregiver of your minor child (or of an adult child who cannot care for themselves), or the incapacitation of a spouse, registered partner, or parent when you would be the only available caregiver (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(3)).
Age. A court may consider a person who is 65 or older, has a serious decline in health because of aging, and has served at least 10 years or 75 percent of the sentence, whichever is less (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(2)). A separate rule covers people 70 or older who have served 30 years under 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c) (§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(ii)).

Compassionate release lets a person in federal prison ask for a shorter sentence when there are “extraordinary and compelling” reasons, such as a terminal illness or a family member who needs care. Below are plain answers to the questions families ask most.

1. What is compassionate release?

Compassionate release is the process that lets a federal prisoner ask for a sentence reduction based on “extraordinary and compelling” reasons.

Many different reasons can qualify. People often ask for compassionate release because of:

a terminal illness;
other serious health problems;
the need to care for a close family member;
poor medical care in prison;
changes in the law (now sharply limited by Rutherford v. United States (2026)); and
other reasons a judge may find “extraordinary and compelling.”

2. What laws and rules control compassionate release?

Federal compassionate release is governed by 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), federal court decisions, U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 1B1.13, and Bureau of Prisons Program Statement 5050.51, Compassionate Release/Reduction in Sentence Procedures (September 3, 2026).

3. Who qualifies for compassionate release?

Any federal prisoner who can show “extraordinary and compelling reasons” for a sentence reduction may qualify.

The statute itself does not define “extraordinary and compelling.” Congress told the Sentencing Commission to describe it (28 U.S.C. § 994(t)). The Commission did so in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 (amended November 1, 2023), which also applies to motions that prisoners file themselves.

Where the policy statement goes beyond the statute, courts follow the statute (Rutherford v. United States, 2026). Judges are guided by federal case law and U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, among other factors, when deciding whether to reduce a sentence.

4. Why do there seem to be different standards?

There is only one overall test for compassionate release: “extraordinary and compelling” reasons.

But if you want the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to ask the court for release on your behalf, the BOP follows its own internal policies when deciding whether to do that.

In most cases, those internal policies matter very little, because the prisoner, not the BOP, asks the court for release.

Once a compassionate release motion (a formal written request to the court) is filed, the judge reviews it the same way whether the BOP or the prisoner filed it. The judge follows federal court decisions, looks at U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, and weighs other factors set out in the law.

5. What are the BOP’s medical categories?

The federal prison system uses its own criteria for compassionate release. These BOP rules do not limit what a federal judge can do with a motion. But the BOP will not file a motion for a prisoner unless its own policy requirements are met.

A person can qualify under either the Terminal Medical Condition category or the Debilitated Medical Condition category.

Under the terminal category, the person must have a terminal illness, meaning a serious and advanced illness with an end-of-life trajectory. No specific life expectancy is required (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(1)(A); Program Statement 5050.51 § 4(a)).

Under the debilitated category, the person must have a serious physical or medical condition, or a serious functional or cognitive impairment, that they are not expected to recover from and that substantially diminishes their ability to provide self-care in prison (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(1)(B); Program Statement 5050.51 § 4(b)).

6. What are the BOP’s elderly categories?

The Bureau now has two groups: “New Law” Elderly Inmates and Elderly Inmates with Medical Conditions.

The Bureau’s old “Other Elderly Inmates” category (age 65 plus a set share of the sentence served, with no medical condition) was eliminated on September 3, 2026 (Program Statement 5050.51). Today an older person generally needs an age-related decline in health (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(2)), or must be 70 or older with 30 years served under the Bureau’s “New Law” elderly category.

The “New Law” Elderly Inmates category requires that the offense was committed on or after November 1, 1987, that the person is 70 or older, and that they have served 30 or more years.

The Elderly Inmates with Medical Conditions category requires age 65 or older, a serious decline in physical or mental health because of aging, and at least 10 years or 75 percent of the sentence served, whichever is less (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(2); Program Statement 5050.51 § 4(c)).

7. What about family caregiver reasons?

On September 3, 2026, the Bureau of Prisons dropped its own child-caregiver and spouse/partner-caregiver categories (Program Statement 5050.51).

These family situations can still be raised in a court motion under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(3). That section covers the death or incapacitation of the caregiver of your minor child (or of an adult child who cannot care for themselves). It also covers an incapacitated spouse, registered partner, or parent when you would be the only available caregiver.

The Death or Incapacitation of the Family Member Caregiver category lets a parent be released to care for their children when the family member caring for a minor child has died or become incapacitated (unable to care for the child). Incapacitation can include a “severe injury,” such as from a car wreck, or a “severe illness,” such as cancer. The parent’s relationship with the child must also be in the child’s best interest.

The Incapacitation of a Spouse or Registered Partner category lets a person be released if their spouse (through marriage or common law marriage) or partner (through civil union or registered domestic partnership) becomes incapacitated because of a “serious injury,” “debilitating physical illness,” or “severe cognitive defect.” Under the Bureau’s former rules, in the case of injury or illness, the spouse or partner had to be unable to carry on any self-care activities and be confined to a bed or chair.

8. How does a federal prisoner ask for compassionate release?

The prisoner or their lawyer writes a compassionate release request and files it with the prison’s Warden.

The request should include:

background facts, such as the medical condition, family situation, age, and sentence details;
the specific category the request is filed under;
the proposed release address; and
the release plan if the request is granted.

The prisoner must wait 30 calendar days after giving the request to the Warden before filing a compassionate release motion in court.

If the Warden does not respond within 30 calendar days, the prisoner may go to court.

Once 30 days have passed since the Warden received the request, there is no need to appeal a denial through the BOP’s administrative remedy program (its internal appeal process) before filing in court.

9. What does the Warden do with the request?

If the request is based on a medical reason, the Warden sends it to the prison’s Clinical Director for a medical summary and recommendation for the Warden’s consideration. Requests based on non-medical or elderly categories do not need this step.

Either way, the Warden reviews the request and decides whether to approve or deny it.

10. What does the Warden base the decision on?

For every compassionate release request, the Bureau looks at:

Inmate’s background
Type of compassionate release requested
Nature and circumstances of the inmate’s offense
Criminal history
Comments from victims
Unresolved detainers
Supervised release violations
Institutional adjustment
Disciplinary infractions

11. What happens if the Warden says no?

If the Warden denies the request, the prisoner gets the reasons in writing and may appeal through the Administrative Remedy Program.

But once 30 days have passed since the Warden received the request, the prisoner does not have to use that program before filing a motion in court.

12. What happens if the Warden says yes?

The request, supporting papers, and the Warden’s recommendation go to the Bureau’s General Counsel, who makes an independent decision.

If General Counsel also approves, the request goes to the Medical Director (for a medical request) or to the Associate Director, Correctional Programs Division (for a non-medical request) for an opinion. The whole packet then goes to the Director for review.

13. What happens if the Director says no?

The Director’s decision is the agency’s final decision, so it cannot be appealed. But a denial by the Director does not stop the prisoner from filing a compassionate release motion in court themselves.

14. What happens if the Director says yes?

If the Director approves, the matter goes to the U.S. Attorney in the district where the prisoner was sentenced. The U.S. Attorney then asks the court for a sentence reduction.

If the court grants it, the order most often reduces the sentence to time served. The prisoner is then released as soon as transportation and medical care can be arranged.

15. Do judges ever deny motions filed by the BOP?

Yes, but it is rare. Because it happens so seldom, there is very little case law on it.

Courts have, however, denied many compassionate release motions filed by prisoners (not by the BOP).

16. How likely is the BOP to ask for release?

Sadly, not very likely. As our Compassionate Release Statistics page explains, there is about a 6 percent chance of the BOP’s Director granting a request. Between 2013 and 2017, the Bureau approved about 300 compassionate release requests out of 5,400. Almost all of those approved (98 percent) were for medical reasons.

Today, most compassionate release motions that courts grant are filed by prisoners themselves or by their lawyers.

17. What is § 1B1.13?

U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 1B1.13 is a policy statement written by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. It is meant to spell out which “extraordinary and compelling” reasons can justify compassionate release.

18. Do courts have to follow § 1B1.13?

Yes. Since the November 1, 2023 amendment, § 1B1.13 applies to motions filed by the BOP and by prisoners, and a reduction must be consistent with it.

But the policy statement must also fit the statute. In Rutherford v. United States (May 28, 2026), the Supreme Court held that § 1B1.13 is invalid to the extent it lets a change in law that was not made retroactive count as a reason.

If you want help with a compassionate release request, book a consultation.