Our justice system imprisons people to deter crime, punish those who commit crimes, protect the public, and rehabilitate prisoners who will one day return home. At FAMM, we believe prisoners should be released when they are too debilitated to commit further crimes, too compromised to benefit from rehabilitation, or too impaired to be aware of punishment.
FAMM works on compassionate release and provides assistance to stakeholders, lawmakers interested in improving compassionate release rules and performance. FAMM also houses the Compassionate Release Clearinghouse to ensure that eligible federal prisoners asking the court for release are represented by trained counsel.
What is Compassionate Release?
Compassionate release is called for when terminal illness, advanced age, sickness, debilitation, or extreme family circumstances outweigh continued imprisonment.
Some form of compassionate release is recognized by 49 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government. But, it is very seldom used despite its benefits to prisoners and the criminal justice system.
There are a number of sound reasons for the robust use compassionate release. Among them is the cost of housing, accommodating, and providing medical care for aging prisoners and those suffering from limiting disabilities or terminal conditions. Such prisoners are the most expensive to confine and the least likely to recidivate. Also, families suffer when they cannot comfort loved ones, settle affairs, and restore relationships with prisoners at the end of life.
Our system imprisons people to deter crime, punish those who commit crimes, protect the public, and rehabilitate prisoners who will one day return home. Prisoners should be released when they are too debilitated to commit further crimes, too compromised to benefit from rehabilitation, or too impaired to be aware of punishment.
FAMM works on compassionate release and provides assistance to stakeholders and lawmakers interested in improving compassionate release rules and performance. FAMM also houses the Compassionate Release Clearinghouse to ensure that eligible federal prisoners are represented by trained counsel.
The Compassionate Release Clearinghouse
The Compassionate Release Clearinghouse identifies federal prisoners who are eligible for compassionate release, have applied, and have been denied or ignored by the Bureau of Prisons. The Clearinghouse reviews applications and recruits, trains, and supports pro bono counsel to represent individuals.
Founded in February 2019, the Clearinghouse is a joint effort of FAMM, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
In its first year, the Clearinghouse placed more than 100 cases, and by early March 2020, had secured the release of more than 40 prisoners. Hundreds of lawyers have represented individuals referred by the Clearinghouse, representing more than 45 Federal Public Defender offices and 25 private law firms, solo practitioners, and law school clinics. Some offices have taken on multiple cases.
The Clearinghouse provides in-depth training, up-to-date resource materials, and on-demand assistance to participating volunteers. To better serve our volunteers, the Clearinghouse is developing a comprehensive brief bank and a listserv, and is building a deep bench of consulting resource counsel and medical professionals.
We provide these resources free of charge to attorneys who volunteer to represent prisoners by way of a Clearinghouse referral.
Prisoners and their loved ones interested in asking for help with compassionate release should write to Stories@famm.org and provide the following information:
- The court in which you or your loved one was sentenced and case number if you have it
- Why you/your loved one asked for compassionate release
- When you/your loved one asked for compassionate release
- Did the warden respond and if so when
- If so, did the warden recommend compassionate release
- Did the Central Office of the Bureau of Prisons deny compassionate release? If yes, what reason did it give, and
- Are there any detainers on file?
- IMPORTANT: A contact on the outside who knows about your case and situation, with phone number and email if possible.
Lawyers interested in volunteering for the Clearinghouse should contact Steve Salky at SteveSalky@gmail.com or Mary Price at MPrice@FAMM.org.
Report: “Everywhere and Nowhere: Compassionate Release in the States”
“Everywhere and Nowhere: Compassionate Release in the States,” is a comprehensive, state-by-state report on the early-release programs available to prisoners struggling with certain extraordinary circumstances, such as a terminal or age-related illness.
The report takes a deep dive into the regulations and requirements of these programs in each state, including the varying categories of release, eligibility criteria, and reporting. The analysis also reveals a troubling number of barriers faced by prisoners and their families when applying for early release.
Resources
The First Step Act made important changes to how federal compassionate release works. It changes and expands the compassionate release eligibility criteria; ensures the prisoners have the right to appeal the BOP’s denial or neglect of the prisoner’s request for a compassionate release directly to court; and provides other important features, such as notification, assistance, and visitation rules.
“Everywhere and Nowhere: Compassionate Release in the States,” is a comprehensive, state-by-state report on the early-release programs available to prisoners struggling with certain extraordinary circumstances, such as a terminal or age-related illness.
The report takes a deep dive into the regulations and requirements of these programs in each state, including the varying categories of release, eligibility criteria, and reporting. The analysis also reveals a troubling number of barriers faced by prisoners and their families when applying for early release.
The report is accompanied by a comparison chart, 21 recommendations for policymakers, and 51 individual state memos.
More than 30 organizations and individuals endorsed a statement of principles. The principles focus on the humanitarian, public safety, and economic benefits of granting early release to a limited number of disabled and elderly prisoners.
Read FAMM and Human Right Watch’s report on compassionate release.
The Answer is No: Too Little Compassionate Release in US Federal Prisons
- 4 Things You Can Do for Your Loved One Seeking Compassionate Release (Federal)
- Letter to the Bureau of Prisons and the Deputy Attorney General on Compassionate Release (August 3, 2017)
- Response from the Bureau of Prisons re: Compassionate Release (January 16, 2018)
- Federal Compassionate Release Data from the Bureau of Prisons
- Federal Compassionate Release Statute, 18 U.S.C. sec. 3582(c)(1)(A)(i)
- Federal Sentencing compassionate release Guideline USSG 1B1.13
- BOP Program Statement 5050.50 (BOP compassionate release rules)
Past Successes
In 2017, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee finally addressed concerns that FAMM has raised about the BOP’s failure to grant compassionate release. Specifically, the Committee’s report directed the BOP to report on what it is doing to increase its use of compassionate release and to provide data on how many compassionate release requests have been granted and denied in the last five years, the reasons for those decisions, how long it took to process the request, and how many people died while waiting for an answer.
Shortly thereafter, 12 U.S. senators wrote a letter to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) requesting an update on its efforts to expand its use of the compassionate release program. We applauded the lawmakers for holding the BOP accountable for its parsimonious use of the compassionate release program.
In 2016, the Sentencing Commission, against the wishes of the Department of Justice, voted unanimously to broaden and strengthen the criteria for federal compassionate release. The changes included recommendations made by FAMM and other advocates. Ultimately the Commission
- Identified 4 categories of “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances that should prompt the Bureau of Prisons to ask the court to grant compassionate release. They are: Medical Condition, Age, Family Circumstances and Other Reasons.
- “Medical conditions” include (1) terminal illness or a serious medical condition, (2) serious functional or cognitive impairment, or (3) deteriorating health due to aging that will not improve and substantially diminishes the prisoner’s ability to care for him or herself in prison.
- “Age” applies if the defendant is 65 or older, is experiencing serious deterioration in physical or mental health due to the aging process and has served 10 years or 75% of the sentence, whichever is lesser.
- “Family Circumstances” include the death or incapacitation of the caregiver of the prisoner’s minor children, or incapacitation of the prisoner’s spouse or domestic partner when the prisoner would be the only caregiver left.
- “Other” permits the BOP to determine if other reasons not stated in the guideline exist and can be used to support compassionate release.
- Stated that the fact that the extraordinary and compelling reason could have been known or anticipated at the time of sentencing does not prevent the court from granting compassionate release.
- Encouraged the BOP to file a motion in any case for any prisoner who meets any of the criteria and leave it to the sentencing court to determine whether a reduction in sentence is warranted.
In 2013, spurred by criticisms from advocacy groups like FAMM and the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Justice announced that the Bureau of Prison’s had adopted new policies regarding which prisoners will be considered for compassionate release.
The new guidelines implemented some of the recommendations from The Answer is No and the OIG report. It outlines, among other things,
- What constitutes extraordinary and compelling reasons;
- Additional information prison officials should take into account and;
- Information the prisoner (or someone acting for him) must provide to the warden.
The new compassionate release criteria are broken down into three categories: medical, non-medical, and elderly (which in turn breaks down into medical and non-medical). The policy also requires the BOP to track compassionate release requests, handle them more efficiently, and establish personnel at each prison to process and monitor requests.
