U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Data Report on Compassionate Release in FY 2023
by Matthew Thomas Clarke
In June 2024, the U.S. Sentencing Commission released a data report on release for “extraordinary and compelling reasons” under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), also known as compassionate release (“CR”). The courts have the authority to grant CR motions and are required to consider the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Historically, only the Director of the Bureau of Prisons could file a CR motion, but with the passage of the First Step Act in 2018, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) was amended to provide a mechanism for prisoners to file their own CR motions under specified circumstances.
The COVID-19 pandemic heralded in an exponentially increased awareness and use of CR motions. For instance, in November 2019, 14 CR motions were filed nationally. By October 2020, the monthly number filed hit its peak at 2,018. Following a steep decline in June 2021, the monthly number of motions continued a gradual decline, reaching its current range of 150–250. As the number of motions filed grew, the percentage of them that were granted declined from 57.1% (of a mere 14 motions) in November 2019 to its current rate of roughly 15–29% of 150–250 motions filed monthly.
The top reasons for granting compassionate release in the second quarter (“Q2”) of fiscal year (“FY”) 2024 were rehabilitation (15.6%), serious medical or physical condition (11.7%), terminal illness (9.2%), unusually long sentence of 10 years or more coupled with a change in the law (7.8%), and multiple 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) penalties (5.7%). The pandemic came in at 5.0%, while family circumstances requiring care for an elderly parent or minor child had a rate of 4.5%.
Not surprisingly, a greater percentage of the granted motions in Q2 of FY 2024 involved longer sentences: (1) 38.6% of granted motions were for cases with sentences of 20 years or more, (2) 29.4% involved sentences of more than 10 but less than 20 years, and (3) 18.9% involved sentences of 5 to less than 10 years. The most common types of crimes involved in granted CR motions in Q2 of FY 2024 were drug trafficking, which made up 59.4% of granted CR motions, robbery (10.9%), firearms (7.0%), and murder (3.5%).
There were racial and other disparities in the makeup of prisoners whose CR motions were granted during Q2 of FY 2024: (1) 42.4% were Black, 32.8% were white, and 21.0% were Hispanic, (2) 90.8% were U.S. citizens, and (3) 84.3% were male. The average age when originally sentenced was 40 years, and the average age when the motion was decided was 49 years. Notably, 96.5% of granted CR motions nationwide were filed by the defendant, and 1.7% by the BOP Director.
The rate of granting CR motions varied considerably among the federal circuits. The Second Circuit had the highest rate (48.5%), while the Eighth Circuit had the lowest (9.0%). The number of CR motions filed also varied considerably with the most filed in the Fourth Circuit (260) and the fewest in the First Circuit (27) and the D.C. Circuit (2).
The filing of motions for compassionate release may have been influenced by a reduction in the calculation of the weight of crack cocaine to bring it in line with that for powdered cocaine (and reality) and the period between March 1, 2020, and April 10, 2023, during which the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency.
Source: ussc.gov
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