Fernandez v. United States · ¶86

This historical account can be summarized succinctly. Congress crafted § 3582(c)(1)(A) to operate as a safety valve that would ameliorate the harshness of the new determinate scheme for sentencing. S. Rep. No. 98–225, at 121. It was not linked to, or limited by, the existence of habeas review in any respect. And that made perfect sense given the specific role Congress envisioned for compassionate release: allowing a discretionary sentence modification for a prisoner who presents “extraordinary and compelling” grounds for mercy.

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