Originally published May 21, 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 May 2021, a federal judge in Ohio granted compassionate release to Anthony D. Jackson so he could get cancer treatment the prison could not give him. His lymphoma had not responded to chemotherapy, and doctors said he needed CAR T-cell therapy. He was already due for release in about 11 months.
United States v. Jackson
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division
2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96110
The need for specialized treatment led to compassionate release.
Mr. Jackson’s earlier requests
Mr. Jackson has several serious medical conditions, including high blood pressure (hypertension), borderline diabetes, and other heart conditions. People with health problems like these face a major risk of serious complications or death from COVID-19. The virus had also spread widely in many prisons. So in 2020, Mr. Jackson asked for compassionate release.
His first request was denied. A few months later, he was diagnosed with lymphoma (a blood cancer) and filed again, because people with cancer face greater risk from COVID-19. He was turned down again, this time because there was no COVID-19 outbreak at his prison at the time.
His sentence
Mr. Jackson was in prison on a 2017 charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty, and on May 9, 2018, he was sentenced to 67 months in prison with credit for time served. His expected release date was April 2, 2022.
Why he needed treatment outside prison
Mr. Jackson was moved to FMC Butner, a federal prison medical center, for chemotherapy. After six rounds, the cancer was still there. Doctors told him he needed CAR T-Cell therapy to treat his cancer, which FMC Butner could not provide. So he filed another motion for compassionate release so he could get this treatment outside the prison system.
Why the judge said yes
The court noted that doctors described his cancer as “malignant,” “high grade,” and “aggressive.” It also noted that he would be released anyway in about 11 months at most.
Given his COVID-19 risk and declining health, the court found that the time he had already served met most of the goals of his sentence: reflecting how serious the crime was, promoting respect for the law, providing fair punishment, and deterring crime.
Finally, the court said his “chronic unrelenting pain” made it very unlikely he would be a danger to others. So it granted his motion, and he was released. He can now get the specialized treatment he needs.
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