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© 2016 - U.S. Legal Forms, Inc USLegal Pamphlet on Sentence Reduction I NTRODUCTION Sentence reduction motions (so-called “compassionate release”) have for many years been reserved by the federal Bureau of Prisons for situations in which a prisoner was close to death. Now, under the new Sentencing Commission policy, the range of eligible cases will be broadened to include prisoners “suffering from a permanent physical or medical condition,” or “experiencing deteriorating physical or mental health because of the aging process.” Release may also be sought because of “the death or incapacitation of the defendant's only family member capable of caring for the defendant's minor child or minor children.” Finally, a catch-all provision authorizes a court to reduce a prisoner’s sentence when, in the judgment of the Director of BOP, some other extraordinary and compelling reasons exists, alone or in combination with one of the other identified circumstances. Under state laws, sentence reduction varies by state. A motion for sentence reduction is essentially a plea for leniency and presupposes a valid conviction. For example, the sentencing court or judge may reduce a defendant's sentence because the sentence was too harsh, for good behavior in prison, or for other reasons. The court may order him discharged, or order him discharged on probation or conditional discharge. This will typically be done only after hearing and for good cause. The period of probation or conditional discharge generally cannot exceed that to which the defendant could have been originally sentenced. D OWNWARD D EPARTURE Downward departure is a term used in criminal law to refer to departing downward from the applicable sentencing guideline range for a statutory minimum sentence. A request for downward departure is typically made by motion and is often referred to as a downward motion. For example, a downward motion may be made by a prosecutor for a defendant who has provided "substantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution of another person who has committed an offense." S ENTENCE M ODIFICATION Motions for sentence modification typically involve a two-step process. First, the defendant must demonstrate the existence of a new factor. If he or she does so, then the trial court must determine whether the new factor justifies modification of the sentence. A defendant must establish the existence of a new factor by clear and convincing evidence. The issue of whether a set of facts constitutes a "new factor" for sentencing purposes presents a question of law which may be reviewed without deference to the trial court. A "new factor" is a fact or set of facts highly relevant to the imposition of sentence but not known to the trial judge at the time of sentencing, either because it was not then in existence or because it was unknowingly overlooked by all of the parties. In addition, it must be an event or development which frustrates the purpose of the original sentence. There must be some connection between the factor and the sentencing which strikes at the very purpose of the sentence selected by the trial court. J UDICIAL R ELEASE If the court grants a motion for judicial release, the court will order the release of the eligible offender, place the eligible offender under an appropriate community control sanction, under appropriate conditions, and under the supervision of the department of probation serving the court and reserves the right to reimpose the sentence that it reduced if the offender violates the sanction. If the court reimposes the reduced sentence , it may do so either concurrently with, or consecutive to, any new sentence imposed upon the eligible offender as a result of the violation that is a new offense. L EGISLATIVE C HANGES In some cases, a sentence reduction may be available due to a newly passed law. For example, on May 1, 2007, the U.S. Sentencing Commission proposed an amendment to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines to reduce the sentencing ranges for crack cocaine offenses by two levels. The amendment went into effect on November 1, 2007, and will affect 70 percent of crack cocaine cases sentenced in federal courts, reducing sentences by an average of 15 months. Sentences could be reduced by an average of 27 months for approximately 19,500 federal prisoners sentenced before November 1, 2007. Individual sentence reductions, however, will vary a great deal and can be shorter or longer than 27 months, depending on the original sentence and how much the court decides to reduce any given prisoner’s sentence. The crack amendment only applies to people in federal prison or convicted in a federal court. There is no guarantee that any given prisoner will receive a sentence reduction, even if they are eligible for one. Whether to reduce a crack sentence is entirely up to the court that sentenced the individual. To obtain a sentence reduction, the prisoner must make a motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) to the court that sentenced him/her. This motion can be formal (i.e., a motion with legal arguments in its support) or informal (i.e., a letter to the court asking for a reduction).