What the First Step Act changed

The First Step Act of 2018 let people in federal prison file their own compassionate release motion in court. Before that, only the Bureau of Prisons could ask a judge, and it rarely did. The Act changed who can file. It did not change what the judge looks for.

What the Act changed

After asking the warden, the person can file in the court that sentenced them 30 days after the warden receives the request, or sooner if they finish the Bureau's appeals first (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)).
When someone is diagnosed with a terminal illness, the Bureau must tell their lawyer, partner, and family within 72 hours, offer a family visit within 7 days, help prepare a request if asked, and process the request within 14 days. It must also accept requests that family or a lawyer prepare for someone too sick to do it themselves (18 U.S.C. § 3582(d)(2)).
Prisons must post notice that this relief exists and explain how to ask for it (18 U.S.C. § 3582(d)(2)(C)).

The Act did not define “extraordinary and compelling reasons.” It did not make later sentencing changes retroactive. And it did not create a new way to challenge a conviction.

What the 2026 Supreme Court cases ruled out

For several years after 2018, some courts used the new right to file to cut sentences for stacked 924(c) gun counts, for other sentencing changes Congress did not make retroactive, or because of doubts about the conviction. On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled out those arguments in Rutherford v. United States and Fernandez v. United States.

The First Step Act still gets you into court. The judge still needs a lawful reason, and that reason is the person's own situation — serious illness, age, a family emergency, or abuse in custody. Good conduct cannot be the only reason (28 U.S.C. § 994(t)). If you are working from a motion written around 2019 to 2021, read who qualifies and the process page first.

Elderly Offender Home Detention is a different program

The First Step Act also expanded a Bureau program that could move certain older or terminally ill people to home detention. That is a decision by the Bureau about where the person serves the sentence, not a shorter sentence from a judge. See the Elderly Offender Program page.

A 2021 case report: United States v. Wyatt

Originally published May 8, 2021. Statements about the law were updated in October 2026; the box below gives today’s rules.

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.

Rehabilitation. By law, rehabilitation alone is not an extraordinary and compelling reason (28 U.S.C. § 994(t)). It can be weighed together with other reasons (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(d)).
COVID-19 and outbreaks. Today a court looks at whether the prison is affected, or at imminent risk of being affected, by an ongoing infectious disease outbreak or public health emergency, and whether the person faces a higher risk of severe illness or death that cannot be reduced in time (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(1)(D)).

Outcomes vary. A past result does not predict or guarantee the outcome of any other case.

First Step Act Sentencing Revisions and Compassionate Release

May 5, 2021

First Step Act

United States v. Wyatt

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division

2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84668

Sentence reduction granted in light of First Step Act sentencing revisions as well as rehabilitation efforts

On November 10, 2010, a jury convicted Thomas G. Wyatt of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. On February 10, 2011, a judge sentenced Wyatt to a total of 132 months’ imprisonment, with a projected release date of July 31, 2024. Wyatt filed a motion for compassionate release based largely on the health risks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his motion, Wyatt pointed out that he faces an increased risk for illness from COVID-19 based on chronic health conditions consisting of “asthma, chronic kidney disease, pre-diabetes, and high cholesterol.” Further, he tested positive for the COVID-19 virus in October 2020. Wyatt, currently thirty-two years old, made it clear that he has a viable release plan in which he will live with family and learn a skilled trade from his father. Wyatt also pointed out that he has participated in GED coursework, he works in the prison’s food service department and has done so since 2016, he has committed only one minor disciplinary infraction, and he has been given a low security classification while incarcerated.

After thorough consideration, the court granted the motion in part and reduced Wyatt’s sentence by ten months in light of the First Step Act of 2018 (which modified the sentencing penalties for crack cocaine users), the relevant sentencing factors, and his postconviction conduct. The court also noted that Wyatt has served most of his 132-month sentence. Granting him a ten month reduction so that he serves a 122 month sentence—more than ten years—is appropriate when considering his criminal history as well as his rehabilitation while incarcerated.