CRIMINAL LEGAL NEWS Useful Information For Those Entering Federal Prison FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| "Compassionate Release" Guideline Amendment Proposed by U.S. Sentencing Commission |
| On April 18, the United States Sentencing Commission voted unanimously to approve a new policy statement to instruct judges considering whether to reduce a prisoner's sentence for extraordinary and compelling reasons, also sometimes know as "compassionate release" motions. This proposed guideline amendment would substantially expand the grounds for reduction of sentence under 18 USC § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). The proposed new policy states in pertinent part that: (A) Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons: Provided that the defendant meets the requirements of subdivision (2) [the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any person or to the community] such reasons "exist under any of the following circumstances: (i) the defendant is suffering from a terminal illness; (ii) the defendant is suffering from a permanent physical or medical condition, or is experiencing deteriorating physical or mental health because of the aging process, that substantially diminishes the ability of the defendant to provide self-care within the environment of a correctional facility for which conventional treatment promises no substantial improvement; (iii) the death or incapacitation of the defendant's only family member capable of caring for the defendant's minor child or minor children; or (iv) as determined by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, there exists in the defendant's case an extraordinary and compelling reason other than, or in combination with, the reasons described in subdivisions (i), (ii) and (iii). (B) Rehabilitation of the Defendant - Pursuant to 28 USC § 994(t), rehabilitation of the defendant is not, by itself, an extraordinary and compelling reasons for purposes of subdivision (1)(A). |
| April 18, 2007 |
| FEDTIME 101 PRISON CONSULTING "Federal Prison Consultants & Habeas Corpus Litigators" RDAP FEDERAL SENTENCE REDUCTION EXPERTS Nationwide: 888-558-2151 |
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