Originally published April 17, 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.
A federal judge in Georgia granted compassionate release to Ras Rahim, who was serving more than 40 years for bank robbery, carjacking and gun charges. The judge pointed to his years of education and rehabilitation in prison, his remorse, and the strong support waiting for him at home.
April 15, 2021
United States v. Rahim
United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Rome Division
2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71864
Rehabilitation and a commitment to education help lead to compassionate release.
His sentence
Ras Rahim was charged with bank robbery and carjacking, and a jury convicted him on all four counts. At sentencing on February 16, 2005, the court gave him 481 months in prison:
- 97 months for the bank robbery and carjacking convictions, served at the same time (concurrently)
- 84 more months on the first firearms charge, served one after the other (consecutively)
- An additional 300 months on the second firearms charge
His projected release date was October 25, 2037.
What he asked the court to consider
Rahim asked the court to look at his whole situation, including the length of his sentence, his rehabilitation, his childhood trauma, the fact that his crimes were out of character for him, and his good conduct in prison.
Rahim, now 38, recognizes how serious his crimes were. He has taken responsibility and expressed remorse for the harm he caused his victims and the community.
His education and conduct in prison
Rahim used his time in prison to change and to prepare for life after release. He has “an extensive inmate education transcript, logging over 1800 hours in programming on varying topics that demonstrate a passion for learning and self-improvement.”
His classes included job readiness training, computer applications, vocational (job) skills, personal wellness and parenting. He also worked as a tutor helping other inmates study for the GED and as a clerk in the prison library.
In 2016, the court recognized that Rahim’s “conduct while in the custody of the [BOP] appears to have been good-and, indeed, in recent years, exemplary-and that [Rahim] has made wise use of his time in custody to attempt to improve himself.”
The court found that he had expressed remorse and was no longer a danger to society.
Support waiting at home
Rahim has a large, supportive community ready to help him adjust to life after prison. His mother, who visits him regularly and talks with him weekly by phone, offered her home as a place for him to live.
A family friend also said he is “prepared to provide [Rahim] with an opportunity to prove himself to be a valued member of his team” as a crew member after his release.
With all of these factors in mind, the court granted his request for education-related compassionate release.
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