People hear the words compassionate release and think it means one thing: you're dying, the BOP feels sorry for you, and they let you go home. That's not how it works. In fact, for years, the BOP were the gatekeepers. If they didn't file the motion for you, you were stuck. And let me tell you something — waiting for the BOP to save you is like waiting for a vending machine to apologize after stealing your money.
Then, in 2018, the First Step Act changed everything. The First Step Act allowed defendants to file compassionate release motions directly with the sentencing court after exhaustion of administrative remedies, or waiting 30 days after the warden receives your request. Now, this is huge, because exhausting your administrative remedies means filing BP8, 9, 10, and 11, which can typically take 4 to 7 months, but it can take 8 to 12 months.
The FSA allows you to jump directly to the BP9 and file with the warden. He rarely says yes, but if it's denied or doesn't respond at all within 30 days, it's deemed a denial and you can file your motion directly with the court. Prison staff told everyone they had to exhaust their administrative remedies first. In fact, even the warden denied over half the BP9 requests for having failed to file the BP8 first. Now, that's some serious bullshit.
What Compassionate Release Actually Requires
What compassionate release is — you need three things:
- Extraordinary and compelling reasons
- You can't be a danger to the community
- The judge considers the 3553 factors
So, extraordinary and compelling. That means you're asking the judge who sentenced you to reduce your prison sentence because something extraordinary and compelling has happened. That could be medical, age, family circumstances, or some other serious reason. But here's the important part — it's not automatic and it's not about sympathy alone.
Secondly, danger to the community. And third, the 3553 factors still have to support release. The statute requires the court to consider the 3553 sentencing factors such as: how serious was the offense? How much time have you served? What is your disciplinary record? Have you completed programming? Do you have a release plan? Are you in danger? What does probation think? What does the US attorney say?
And this is where people blow it. They think the medical condition is the whole case. It's not. The judge is still looking at the whole person.
Before the First Step Act
Before the First Step Act in 2018, compassionate release was mostly controlled by the BOP. And if you know anything about the BOP, you already know how that went: denial, delay, silence, repeat. They're the ones that had to file for the compassionate release.
Then Senator Jim Merritt introduced a bill — the 2023 Compassionate Release Amendment, also known as Amendment 814, which became law on November 1st, 2023, while I was still in custody working at the law library. Take a listen.
Media clip — Indiana House Bill 1648 (Compassionate Release Bill):
Interviewer: How are you?
Jim Merritt: I'm well. I'm well.
Interviewer: Well, let's talk about this. In a few words, who would qualify for release under this bill?
Merritt: Well, first of all, we want everyone to pay their debt to society. But two, there are about 2,500 people who are incarcerated now that have some sort of disease, some sort of terminal illness. This bill also qualifies for over 65, non-violent, and you have to go before a judge. If this would become law, you have to go before a judge and put your issue before that individual. And so, with the cost of medical care inside prison…
Interviewer: So it appears as though there are two very different kinds of arguments for this. One, because it's a decent thing to do. Two, the money aspect that you just talked about. I want to drill down a little bit more on both of those. First, this idea of compassion. I'm thinking of, for instance, victims' families or surviving victims who may say, "The whole point of this was never compassion." To them, what would you say about this?
Merritt: Well, I would say that first of all, this person would have to go before the judge, would have to be determined non-violent, that they have served a great deal of their sentence. There would be a lot of stipulations involved. And so, I would say to that individual and those families, first of all, we're sorry for your loss. And second of all, this person has paid their debt to society in large part. And third, they won't hurt anyone again because they can't. They're not able to physically. And a judge can make that decision.
Interviewer: And the person essentially heads straight to hospice? Or do they go home to be with family and friends?
Merritt: They would go home to be with friends and family, hospice — they would live out their days at home.
When the Law Changed, the Compound Knew Overnight
And when it changed, the whole compound seemed to know about it overnight. Guys started coming into the library one after another holding paperwork, asking the same questions in different ways: Does this help me? Some of them have been told for years that they didn't qualify. Some had given up. Some didn't even understand what the change meant. They just knew that there might finally be a door open that there hadn't been before.
Because of law school, I knew how to research federal statutes. I knew how to read case law. I knew how to look at precedent and understand how the courts might interpret that new legislation. So I started helping. And over time, I helped dozens of men become eligible for immediate release who before that had no path at all.
I remember sitting in the library one night surrounded by files, people hoping for a second chance, and for the first time my life actually made sense in a way that it hadn't before. Law school, the bail bond business, the mistakes, the prison sentence — somehow all of it led me to that room in that moment. I'm not saying prison was supposed to happen. I'm saying once I was there, I finally understood why the skills I had learned mattered. And that's why I'm still doing this today.
The New Categories of Extraordinary and Compelling
The new law changed what the court considers extraordinary and compelling.
Medical
This is the biggest one. Terminal illness, serious medical conditions, conditions that substantially diminish your capacity to care for yourself in prison.
Age
Older inmates, especially where health is declining and they've served significant time.
Family Circumstances
Death or incapacitation of the caregiver of your minor child. Incapacitation of a spouse or registered partner where they're the only available caregiver.
There were two new categories added to this:
- Incapacitation of the defendant's parent, where the defendant would be the only available caregiver to that parent.
- Other immediate family members — similar circumstances involving any other immediate family member, or someone with a similar relationship to the defendant, where the defendant is the only available caregiver.
There are some key requirements for these new categories. You must prove that the family member is truly incapacitated — a serious injury, debilitating illness, cognitive decline, etc. And you must show that you're the only available caregiver.
Unusually Long Sentence
That's another new one. If a defendant received an unusually long sentence and has served at least 10 years of the term of imprisonment, that can qualify them for extraordinary and compelling.
In a rare recorded U.S. Supreme Court oral argument on compassionate release based on unusually long sentences, Justice Clarence Thomas — the second longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court with more than 34 years on the bench — presses the defendant's attorney arguing for the defendant's release. Take a listen.
Media clip — U.S. Supreme Court Oral Argument:
Defendant's Attorney: Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court. When Congress established the extraordinary and compelling reason standard for sentence reductions under Section 3582, it chose words that set a high bar for when courts may grant such motions. It also chose words that do not prescribe what types of reasons will qualify. Instead, it delegated that task to the Sentencing Commission and required that district courts comply with the Commission's guidance when exercising their discretion under the statute.
This case presents the question whether Congress has implicitly prohibited district courts and the Sentencing Commission from considering any reasons that may also be alleged as grounds for habeas relief. It has not. Under the plain meaning of the statute, if a court finds an error that significantly increased the length of the defendant's sentence, that fact can contribute to a finding of extraordinary and compelling reasons to reduce the sentence. And even when a court finds no error, it may nonetheless decide that the circumstances surrounding the defendant's sentence were so unusual and unfair as to be extraordinary and compelling. That's what happened here.
The government's position is extreme. It contends that no argument related to a defendant's judgment may even be considered in the extraordinary and compelling calculus. It posits that only personal circumstances like age and illness are relevant. Our position is modest. We recognize that personal circumstances are common reasons that courts find to be extraordinary and compelling. But we reject the government's view that courts can never consider an error or unfairness in a defendant's sentence in that analysis. Allowing courts to grant a sentence reduction in rare cases based in part on circumstances that could have been addressed on habeas will not frustrate the habeas statute's procedural limitations. There is no basis to adopt the government's non-literal reading of 3582. I welcome the court's questions.
Justice Clarence Thomas: Do you think the term compassionate release suggests the circumstances that you have in this case?
Defendant's Attorney: Your honor, the term compassionate release is a term that has been used colloquially and was used at one point in a Department of Justice regulation. We certainly concede that term does seem to relate to personal circumstances, but it doesn't necessarily foreclose the possibility that courts would consider other issues related to the fairness of the defendant.
Justice Clarence Thomas: So during the years that the Bureau of Prisons actually initiated this process, were there any circumstances in which a trial error would be the basis of the motion?
Defendant's Attorney: Certainly there were very few cases period when the BOP was involved.
Justice Clarence Thomas: But were even in the few cases, were there any of this nature?
Defendant's Attorney: There were not, Your Honor.
Justice Clarence Thomas: What was the nature of those?
Defendant's Attorney: Those were generally where a prisoner was terminally ill or old and…
Justice Clarence Thomas: In other words, personal circumstances.
Defendant's Attorney: They were certainly personal circumstances.
The Biggest Mistake People Make
The biggest mistake is sending in a weak request that just says "I'm sick" or "my family needs me." That's not a motion, that's a complaint. You need records:
- Medical records
- Chronos
- Sick call requests
- Specialist notes
- Medication history
- Incident reports, if staff ignored you
- Family documentation — death certificates, guardianship paperwork, letters
- Release plan — housing plans, medical care plan
You're not just asking to be released — you're building a record.
Compassionate Release Is a Legal Process
If you or someone you love is dealing with compassionate release, I can help you understand the process, organize the paperwork, and build the strongest presentation possible. Don't just send a half-assed template saying, "Please let me out, my mother's sick." Build a record. Do it right.
Compassionate release is not a miracle. It's not mercy handed down from the BOP. It's a legal process. And like everything else in the federal system, the people who understand the process have a better chance than the people who just sit there waiting. The BOP may say no. The warden may ignore you. But once 30 days passes, the court doors open. And sometimes those doors are the only things that matter.
If you need help, you can reach me at thehighcost.com.