FEDERAL CRIMINAL LAWYERS

Federal Sentencing Reduction: Compassionate Release and First Step Act

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you the honest truth about compassionate release that most law firm websites won’t tell you. The system has a name that sounds humanitarian. It isn’t. What follows is the reality of federal sentencing reduction through compassionate release – and why the First Step Act changed everything while changing almost nothing.

You’ve probably heard that the First Step Act of 2018 made compassionate release easier to obtain. That’s technically true. Before the Act, federal prisoners had to ask the Bureau of Prisons for permission to file a court motion. The BOP almost never said yes. Now prisoners can go directly to court after 30 days. That sounds like progress. It sounds like the system finally developed some actual compassion.

Here’s the reality: federal courts now deny 84% of compassionate release motions. Read that number again. Eighty-four percent. The First Step Act removed the BOP as gatekeeper and handed that role to federal judges – who turned out to be almost as restrictive. According to USSC data from FY 2024, the overwhelming majority of inmates who file for compassionate release are told no. The “compassion” exists only in the statute’s name.

The 84% Wall: Why “Compassionate” Release Almost Never Happens

The numbers dont lie. When the USSC released its FY 2024 compassionate release statistics, they revealed what defense attorneys have known for years: this isnt a system designed to grant relief. Its a system designed to deny it. Heres the kicker: even when you meet every technical requirement, courts find reasons to say no.

The statute requires “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances. That phrase – extraordinary and compelling – does alot of heavy lifting. Courts have interpreted it to mean your dying. Literaly dying. And sometimes that isnt enough either. Carlos Tapia-Ponce was 94 years old and terminaly ill when the court denied his motion. He died the following month in federal prison. The court said his death wasnt imminent enough. Think about that. Ninety-four years old. Terminal diagnosis. Denied becuase he might live another few months.

Most people assume that if your sick enough, if your circumstances are dire enough, the system will show some humanity. Thats not how it works. The system evaluates your suffering against a legal standard so narrow that most genuine emergencies dont qualify. Youve got cancer? Courts have denied cancer patients. Youve got COVID complications and respiratory failure? Courts denied those too during the pandemic. The “extraordinary and compelling” language has become a wall, not a gateway.

Before the First Step Act, 5% of compassionate release applicants died while waiting for the BOP to decide their cases. The system wasnt slow by accident. It was designed for denial through delay.

Before First Step Act: The BOP Gatekeeping Era

Let that sink in. From 2006 to 2011, the Bureau of Prisons approved an average of 24 compassionate release requests per year. Twenty-four. Out of more then 200,000 federal inmates. The DOJ Inspector General documented this in a scathing 2013 report that exposed how the BOP had basicly shut down the entire program.

The BOP didnt just deny most requests. It ignored them. Applications sat in administrative limbo for months, sometimes years. Prisoners died waiting for bureaucrats to open their files. Family members watched loved ones deteriorate while the BOP debated whether terminal illness was “terminal enough.” The average processing time exceeded two years – which meant that for many applicants, the only release they recieved was death.

Heres whats genuinly disturbing about this era: the BOP had absolutly no incentive to approve requests. Every approval reduced their inmate population, which reduced their funding, which reduced their institutional power. The conflict of interest was baked into the system. The agency tasked with deciding whether someone deserved compassionate release was the same agency that benefited from keeping them incarcerated.

The named examples from this era are haunting. Anthony Bell filed for compassionate release through the BOP. Denied. He died two days later in his cell. The BOP found his circumstances werent “extraordinary and compelling” enough. Tommy Leftwich was 78 years old, wheelchair-bound, suffering multiple chronic conditions. Denied. The BOP said he could recieve “adequate care” in the prison medical facility. Michael Mahoney applied through the proper channels, waited 17 months for a decision. Seventeen months of dying while bureaucrats shuffled paper. He was eventualy granted release, but those 17 months were stolen from whatever time he had left.

Congress passed the First Step Act specificaly to end this gatekeeping. The Act allowed prisoners to file directly in court after either exhausting BOP remedies or waiting 30 days – whichever came first. This was supposed to be the solution. Bypass the BOP. Go straight to federal judges. Let the courts decide.

The First Step Act Promise vs. Reality

OK so what actualy happened when prisoners could finaly bypass the BOP? Courts became the new gatekeepers. And courts, it turns out, are nearly as restrictive as the BOP ever was.

The First Step Act gave federal judges authority to consider “any extraordinary and compelling reason” for release – thats language from the United States v. Brooker decision in the Second Circuit. Courts arent limited to the narrow categories the BOP used. They can consider rehabilitation, family circumstances, changes in sentancing law, the defendants health, their age, there record in prison. This flexibility was supposed to make the system more humane.

But heres the thing: flexibility cuts both ways. When judges have discretion, they exercise it. And most federal judges exercise there discretion toward denial. The 84% denial rate tells you everything you need to know about how judges interpret “extraordinary and compelling.” They interpret it narrowly. Conservatively. With a thumb on the scale against release.

The most common reasons for denial include: circumstances not extraordinary enough, sentancing factors weigh against release, defendant poses ongoing danger, or – and this one appears constantly – the defendant hasnt served enough of their sentence to warrant early release. That last reason is circuler logic. The whole point of compassionate release is that circumstances have changed since sentancing. But courts use the original sentence as a baseline and ask whether the defendant has “earned” early release through sufficient incarceration. Thats not compassion. Thats bureaucratic punishment-maximization.

The Geographic Lottery: Where Your Imprisoned Matters More Than Your Case

Heres the part nobody talks about. Your chances of getting compassionate release depend enormously on where your serving your sentence. Not on your medical condition. Not on your rehabilitation. Not on whether you meet the legal standard. On geography.

The Second Circuit grants 48.5% of compassionate release motions. The Eighth Circuit grants 9%. Same federal statute. Same legal standard. Completly different outcomes based on which circuit your prison happens to be in.

This is a five-to-one disparity. If your incarcerated in New York or Connecticut, you have nearly a coin-flip chance. If your in Arkansas or Missouri, you have almost no chance at all. The Constitution is supposed to mean the same thing everywhere. It dosent. Federal law is supposed to apply uniformly across all circuits. It dosent. Your fate depends on the accident of where the government chose to house you.

Todd Spodek has seen this geographic lottery play out in real cases. Clients with identical circumstances – same age, same medical conditions, same institutional records – recieve completley different outcomes depending on where there motion gets filed. The arbitrariness is staggering. And theres basicly nothing you can do about it if your in a restrictive circuit except hope your judge is an outlier.

The circuit split exists becuase the Supreme Court hasnt clarified what “extraordinary and compelling” actualy means. Each circuit has developed its own interpretation. Some are expansive. Most are restrictive. Until the Supreme Court resolves this, prisoners in certain circuits will continue getting released while prisoners in others die waiting.

The practical implications of this are staggering. A prisoner with stage four cancer in Vermont has nearly a 50% chance of going home to die with family. The same prisoner with the same cancer in Nebraska has less then a 10% chance. Same disease. Same prognosis. Same federal statute. Completley different outcomes based on nothing more then where the federal government chose to warehouse them. This isnt justice – its a geographic lottery that determines who dies in a cell and who dies at home surrounded by loved ones.

The Age Calculation: When Courts Actually Grant Release

Think about it this way. The strongest predictor of compassionate release isnt your medical condition. Its your age. Courts have created an unwritten rule: if your old enough, you might qualify. If your not, you probly dont.

The USSC data shows prisoners 75 and older have a 61.5% grant rate. Thats remarkable – more than three times the overall average. But for prisoners under 45? The grant rate drops below 20%. Courts have decided that “extraordinary and compelling” basicly means elderly. Young people with terminal illness? Not compelling enough. Middle-aged people dying of cancer? Not extraordinary enough. But 80-year-olds with chronic conditions that arent immediately life-threatening? Now were talking.

Theres a perverse logic here. Courts seem to beleive that only the elderly have suffered enough to deserve release. As if age itself is punishment. As if someone who committed a crime at 30 and served 50 years has earned compassion through sheer endurance. The system doesnt reward rehabilitation or good behavior or changed circumstances. It rewards survival. Make it to 75 and you have a chance. Die at 74 and you were just numbers in the denial statistics.

Kevin Zeich applied for compassionate release three times. Denied each time. He finaly got approved on his fourth attempt. He died the day after the approval came through. Never left prison. The system granted him “compassion” exactley one day too late. His case perfectly ilustrates the dysfunction: the same circumstances that werent compelling on the first three applications were somehow compelling on the fourth. Nothing changed except the judge who reviewed it. Or maybe the courts mood that day. The arbitrariness is the cruelest part – knowing that your fate depends not on your circumstances but on institutional caprice.

The Exhaustion Maze: Getting Your Motion Before a Judge

Before you can file a compassionate release motion in court, you have to navigate the exhaustion requirement. This is were many applications die – not on the merits, but on procedure.

The First Step Act requires prisoners to either exhaust administrative remedies with the BOP or wait 30 days after submitting a request to the warden. Most people interpret this as a simple 30-day waiting period. Its not that simple. Courts disagree about what triggers the 30 days, what constitutes a proper request, and whether defects in the administrative process bar court review.

Heres the thing: the BOP still dosent want to approve these requests. When you submit an administrative request, the BOP will look for any technicality to deny it. Wrong form. Missing documentation. Improper procedure. Each denial adds time. Each time adds suffering. And if you make a procedural mistake, courts may throw out your motion without ever considering the merits.

Spodek Law Group has helped clients navigate this maze. The exhaustion requirement sounds straightforward – wait 30 days and file. But the execution is filled with traps. What address do you send the request to? What medical documentation do you need to include? How do you prove you actualy submitted the request? Each step has potential pitfalls that can doom an otherwise winnable motion.

The smartest approach is to file administratively while simultaneously preparing the court motion. The moment those 30 days expire, you file in court. This minimizes delay. But it requires parallel preparation – working on both tracks at once. Most pro se prisoners dont know this. They wait for the BOP to respond (which could take months), then start preparing their court motion. By then, they may have lost critical time.

Why Most Motions Fail: The Mistakes That Doom Applications

Look at it this way. Even if you clear the exhaustion hurdle, even if your in a favorable circuit, even if your old enough to qualify – your motion can still fail because of how its presented. The substantive requirements are demanding, and most prisoners dont meet them.

Medical documentation is the first failure point. Courts want extensive, detailed medical records that clearly establish your condition, your prognosis, and why prison cant adequately treat you. Vague references to illness arent enough. You need diagnoses, treatment histories, specialist opinions, and clear statements about life expectancy. Prison medical departments are notoriously uncooperative about providing this documentation. And without it, your motion looks weak.

Release plan is the second failure point. Courts want to know exactly where you’ll go, who’ll care for you, and how you’ll manage your medical needs. “I’ll live with family” isnt enough. You need addresses, caregivers, transportation plans, medical care arrangements. The more specific, the better. Courts deny motions all the time becuase the release plan was vague or unrealistic.

Sentencing factors are the third failure point. Even if your circumstances are extraordinary and compelling, courts must consider whether release is consistent with the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors – the same factors that influenced your original sentence. Seriousness of offense. Need for deterrence. Protection of public. If your offense was violent or involved significant harm, courts will use that against you even if your now dying of cancer at 80.

What Actually Works: Building a Winnable Motion

But heres the thing: some motions do succeed. The 16% that get granted share certain characteristics. Understanding what works is essential if your going to beat the odds.

First, specificity. Every claim needs documentation. Every medical condition needs records. Every assertion about prison conditions or care needs evidence. Courts are skeptical by default. Overcome that skepticism with overwhelming documentation. If you say your terminally ill, include the diagnosis, the prognosis letter, the treatment records, the specialist consultations. Leave nothing to imagination.

Second, circuit strategy. Know your circuit’s tendencies. Todd Spodek studies circuit-specific patterns to understand what arguments resonate with local judges. In restrictive circuits, motions need to be stronger. In permissive circuits, certain arguments carry more weight. This isnt about gaming the system – its about presenting your case in the way most likely to be heard.

Third, timing. File as soon as your eligible. Every day of delay is a day lost. The exhaustion clock starts when you submit your administrative request. Be ready to file in court the moment those 30 days expire. Have your motion prepared in advance. Time is literally life in these cases.

Fourth, the 3553(a) factors. Courts must balance the “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances against the sentancing factors from your original case – things like the seriousness of the offense, the need for deterrence, protection of the public. This is were many otherwise strong motions fail. If your original offense was violent or involved significant harm to victims, courts will weigh that heavily against release. Your motion needs to directly address these factors and explain why release remains appropriate despite them. Judges want to see that you understand the seriousness of what you did while also showing why circumstances have fundamentaly changed.

Fifth, the release plan details matter more then most people realize. Courts dont just want to know where you’ll live – they want to know exactly how your medical care will be managed. Who is your primary care physician going to be? Which hospital will handle emergencies? How will you get to appointments? Who will administer medications? These specific details demonstrate that your not just asking to leave prison – your showing the court that a genuine, workable plan exists to care for you outside. Vague release plans sink otherwise winnable motions every day.

The most important thing to understand is this: just becuase the system is designed to deny dosent mean denial is inevitable. The 16% who succeed often have two things in common – compelling facts and excellent presentation. You control the presentation.

At Spodek Law Group, we evaluate every compassionate release case with clear eyes about the odds. We tell clients the truth about what theyre facing. The 84% denial rate is real. The circuit split is real. The age bias is real. But we also fight for every possible advantage, becuase even in a hostile system, some people get out.

If your facing a situation were compassionate release might apply – for yourself or a family member – call us at 212-300-5196. Lets talk about the specifics. What medical conditions exist, what circuit your in, what the release plan looks like. Thats what were here for.

Sources:

• USSC Compassionate Release Data FY 2024
• DOJ Inspector General Report on BOP Compassionate Release
• First Step Act (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A))
• United States v. Brooker (2d Cir. 2020)
• Families Against Mandatory Minimums – Compassionate Release Research