Originally published April 3, 2021. Statements about the law were updated in October 2026; the box below gives today’s rules.
Outcomes vary. A past result does not predict or guarantee the outcome of any other case.
In April 2021, a federal judge granted compassionate release to Gregory Cameron, who had already had COVID-19 in prison. The court pointed to his serious health risk, the harsh conditions of serving time during the pandemic, and the lack of public benefit from keeping him locked up.
United States v. Cameron
2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62694
His case
Cameron pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute narcotics. He was sentenced mainly to 96 months in prison.
His health
Cameron has a co-morbidity (a health condition) that puts him at higher risk of complications from COVID-19. He had already caught the virus in prison and, fortunately, recovered.
Even so, his co-morbidity was serious. Reinfection with COVID had been rare, but the spread of highly infectious variants raised concern that it might not stay rare. Cameron also still had mild pneumonia.
Why the judge said yes
The court recognized that, as in so many other cases, Cameron’s time had been served under conditions made unusually harsh by the pandemic. The court also said that keeping him in prison longer would not serve a substantial public interest. So his request for compassionate release was granted.
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