NACDL is advocating for improvements to Oregon's compassionate release laws. 

Evolution of Federal Drug Sentencing to Compassionate Release

For John Bailey, achieving justice involved a long journey on both straight and winding roads with many obstacles along the way. But trying as it may have been, the odyssey ended by arriving at the sweetest of destinations – freedom.

Letter to Senate leadership regarding federal sentencing reform proposals that begin to address shortcomings and disparities. See the COVID-19 Safer Detention Act of 2021 (S. 312), the First Step Implementation Act of 2021 (S. 1014), the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2021 (S. 601), the EQUAL Act (S. 79), the Kenneth P. Thompson Begin Again Act (S. 2502), and the Driving for Opportunity Act (S. 998).

Comments to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines.

Letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding USSC priorities in the current (2019) amendment cycle.

Coalition letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the risks of contracting COVID-19 for those living and working in carceral facilities, and the release options available to reduce that risk through compassionate release, home confinement, and other CARES Act-authorized release programs (H.R.748, 2020).

for Family Members and Loved Ones of Vulnerable People in Federal Prison

Note: At this time, the Clearinghouse is only accepting applications from those who are currently on CARES Act Home Confinement.

In response to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the Compassionate Release Clearinghouse COVID-19 Project was created to help elderly and medically vulnerable people in federal prison seek early release from prison.

Para Familiares y Conocidos de Personas en Prisiones Federales

En este momento, el proyecto para liberación compasiva relacionado al COVID-19 solo está aceptando aplicaciones por las personas que están en el CARES ACT confinamiento domiciliario.

En repuesta a la pandemia global de COVID-19, el proyecto para liberación compasiva federal relacionado al COVID-19 fue establecido para las personas detenidas en las prisiones federales, que son mayor de edad o tienen condiciones médicas que lo dejan más vulnerable al COVID-19.

Long underused and unfairly applied by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, federal compassionate release is seeing a revival under the First Step Act. That law not only corrected many of the flaws in the way the BOP handled compassionate release requests, but allows prisoners direct access to the courts. The new law clarifies the broad range of circumstances related to age, illness, and family circumstances that might trigger eligibility for relief and further opens up exciting new opportunities to seek reconsideration of sentences that are no longer appropriate for a variety of other reasons.

Coalition Letter to the Oregon Legislature's Senate Judiciary Committee regarding improvements to state compassionate release laws, as proposed in SB 835 (2021).

Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondent. 

Argument: Contrary to the government’s position, there was nothing “usual, average, or normal” about the sea change in sentencing law caused by Booker. The Sixth Circuit should explicitly acknowledge that a district court has the discretion to consider, as part of its “extraordinary and compelling” analysis, inappropriately harsh sentences received by some defendants in the unconstitutional pre-Booker regime.

Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondent.

Argument: In enacting the compassionate release statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), Congress created a safety valve that allows a sentence in any case to be terminated early under extraordinary and compelling circumstances, regardless of whether the sentence was originally imposed pursuant to a mandatory sentencing provision.  This is clear from the statute’s text, its legislative history, and the practice of federal judges around the country. The Sixth Circuit should explicitly acknowledge that the District Court acted within the authority Congress gave it when it granted compassionate release to Mr. John Bass who was serving a “mandatory minimum” of life in prison “without release.”

Courts around the United States have increasingly recognized that the coronavirus is an extraordinary and compelling reason warranting release of inmates. Several courts have heeded the call from legal and medical experts to release vulnerable and old inmates from inherently unsafe facilities.

Congress amended 18 U.S.C. § 3582 to permit prisoners to file their own motions for compassionate release.