Questions families ask about compassionate release

It is a request asking the federal judge who imposed a prison sentence to make it shorter. The judge can grant it only for “extraordinary and compelling reasons” and after weighing the usual sentencing factors (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). It is not a pardon, parole, or a new trial.

The reason has to be about the person’s own situation. The Sentencing Commission lists a terminal illness, a serious medical condition the person will not recover from, age 65 or older with serious decline after serving at least 10 years or 75 percent of the sentence (whichever is less), certain family emergencies, abuse by prison staff, and other reasons just as serious (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)). Fitting one of these is a start, not a guarantee. See who qualifies.

A serious and advanced illness with an end-of-life trajectory. The rule gives examples such as metastatic solid-tumor cancer, ALS, end-stage organ disease, and advanced dementia, and it does not require a doctor to predict how long the person has to live (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(1)(A)).

It can help, but it cannot be the only reason. Congress says rehabilitation alone is not an extraordinary and compelling reason (28 U.S.C. § 994(t)), and the Sentencing Commission’s rule says it can be weighed together with other reasons (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(d)).

Not if Congress did not make the change retroactive. On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court held that a non-retroactive change in the law cannot be an extraordinary and compelling reason, alone or combined with other reasons (Rutherford v. United States, Nos. 24-820 and 24-860).

No. On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court held that attacks on the validity of a conviction, like innocence or trial errors, belong in a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, not in a compassionate release motion (Fernandez v. United States, No. 24-556).

No. Compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) shortens a sentence imposed by a federal court. The Bureau of Prisons also says it has no authority to seek release for state prisoners held in its facilities (Program Statement 5050.51, section 12).

With a written request to the warden of the prison where your loved one is held. The request should explain the extraordinary and compelling circumstances and give a release plan: where the person will live, how they will be supported, and, for a medical request, where they will get treatment and how it will be paid for (28 C.F.R. § 571.61(a)).

Yes. The Bureau of Prisons handles a request made by another person on an inmate’s behalf the same way it handles the inmate’s own request (28 C.F.R. § 571.61(b)). If the person has a terminal illness or cannot make the request, the law also requires the Bureau to tell family members they may submit one (18 U.S.C. § 3582(d)(2)).

Thirty days, in practice. Once 30 days have passed since the warden received the request, your loved one can file in court even if the warden never answered (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). For a terminal illness, the Bureau must process a request within 14 days (18 U.S.C. § 3582(d)(2)(A)(iv)).

Your loved one can appeal through the Bureau’s Administrative Remedy Program (28 C.F.R. part 542, subpart B; Program Statement 5050.51, section 11). Or, once 30 days have passed since the warden received the request, the motion can go to court without finishing those appeals (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)).

Yes, subject to privacy rules. Within 72 hours of a terminal diagnosis, the Bureau must notify the person’s attorney, partner, and family, and within 7 days it must give the partner and family a chance to visit in person (18 U.S.C. § 3582(d)(2)(A)). The Bureau records the person’s consent to these notices on a Release of Information Consent form, BP-A0192 (Program Statement 5050.51, section 4).

The federal court that imposed the sentence, even if the prison is in another state. Federal regulations call it the “sentencing court” (28 C.F.R. § 571.60; 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)), and when the Bureau itself approves a request, it contacts the U.S. Attorney in the district where the person was sentenced (Program Statement 5050.51, section 10).

There is no set timeline. The earliest a motion can be filed is 30 days after the warden receives the request, or sooner if the Bureau’s appeals are finished first (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). After that, timing depends on the court, because the statute sets no deadline for the judge’s decision.

Three things. Whether there are extraordinary and compelling reasons, whether a reduction fits the Sentencing Commission’s policy statement, and whether the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), like the crime and public safety, support it (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A); U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13).

The judge shortens the prison term and may add probation or supervised release, with or without conditions, for up to the time that was left (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). When the order arrives, the warden releases the person right away, or as the order directs (28 C.F.R. § 571.62(b); Program Statement 5050.51, section 10).

Yes, but only with the Director’s approval, after review by the warden, the Bureau’s General Counsel, and the Medical Director or another senior official (28 C.F.R. § 571.62(a); Program Statement 5050.51, section 10). Your loved one does not have to wait for that: the motion can be filed by the person in prison once 30 days have passed since the warden received the request (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)).

Start with what the Bureau itself must include when a warden supports a medical request: a Comprehensive Medical Summary from the attending physician with an estimate of life expectancy, plus relevant test results, consultations, and referral reports (Program Statement 5050.51, section 10). Records from doctors and hospitals outside prison can show the history of the condition. See how to get medical records.

They send an Inmate Request to Staff (form BP-A0148) to the prison’s Health Services Administrator (Program Statement 6090.04, section 3; 28 C.F.R. § 513.42). Staff review the records first, and anything held back can be requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

Yes, with the person’s written permission. The request goes to the Bureau’s FOIA/Privacy Act office with an authorization that is notarized or signed under penalty of perjury and dated within three months of the request (28 C.F.R. § 513.63; Program Statement 6090.04, section 3).

Use the Bureau of Prisons’ inmate locator. You can search by BOP register number or by name, and it covers people in federal custody from 1982 to the present. The result names the facility, and each facility’s page on bop.gov lists its phone number and mailing addresses.

It is a Bureau of Prisons facility for people with serious or chronic medical problems; the Bureau classifies Federal Medical Centers as administrative facilities (bop.gov). The Bureau’s highest medical care level, Care Level 4, is assigned to its Medical Referral Centers (Program Statement 6031.06, section 6), and the Justice Department’s Inspector General describes Federal Medical Centers as housing people at all medical and mental health care levels (OIG report 25-009). See Federal Medical Centers.

It matters for where the request goes, not for which court decides. The written request goes to the warden of the facility where the person is held (28 C.F.R. § 571.61), and the motion goes to the court that imposed the sentence (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A); 28 C.F.R. § 571.60).

No law requires one. The statute lets the person in prison file the motion once the 30 days have passed (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)), and families can help gather records and write the request to the warden (28 C.F.R. § 571.61(b)).

Yes. We can talk with family members, but when we represent someone, that person is our client, and we need the client’s permission before we share details about the case. Your loved one can tell us what we may discuss with you.