Rutherford v. United States · ¶36

It would also fall well outside the heartland of compassionate release, which has long been defined by a prisoner's personal circumstances. After Congress enacted § 3582(c)(1) (A)(i), the Bureau of Prisons explained that the standards for compassionate release mirrored those of a prior sentencereduction statute and that “[r]eleases have been most often applied in cases where the inmate is terminally ill.” 59 Fed. Reg. 1238 (1994); see 28 CFR § 572.40(a) (1984) (providing that the Bureau would move for a sentence reduction under 18 U. S. C. § 4205(g) (1982 ed.) “in particularly meritorious or unusual circumstances,” such as “if there is an extraordinary change in an inmate's personal or family situation or if an inmate becomes severely ill”). The Act's heightened procedural requirements are similarly tied to personal circumstances: The Bureau must provide extra assistance to a movant…

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