Rutherford v. United States · ¶101

The majority offers a counter-tradition, claiming that the “the heartland of compassionate release” “has long been defined by a prisoner's personal circumstances,” such as his physical health. Ante, at 466. It is certainly true that personal circumstances feature prominently in compassionate- release proceedings. Even so, nothing in the statute's text confnes courts to considering only personal circumstances, and “[t]he only limitations on a court's discretion to consider any relevant materials” in a sentence-modification proceeding “are those set forth by Congress in a statute or by the Constitution.” Concepcion, 597 U. S., at 494. Without an express limitation, the default remains: Courts may consider facts beyond personal circumstances when deciding whether to modify a defendant's sentence.

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