JASON93 / LEGAL TECHSearch the reference
AuthorityCurrent through November 2, 2026View as Markdown

Legal review · Scope & methodology

This record is not a citator check. Confirm later history and treatment before relying on it.

authority type
policy
jurisdiction
federal_nationwide
publication status
official_current_agency_guidance
precedential status
nonbinding_agency_policy
decision or issuance date
2026-09-03
subsequent history
Approved Sept. 3, 2026 by Director William K. Marshall III; rescinds PS 5050.50 (p. 1). Read in full from the preserved snapshot on 2026-10-29.
negative treatment status
Not applicable to agency policy; currency confirmed from the official BOP policy index on 2026-10-29.
material limitations
Agency policy. The BOP categories are narrower than USSG § 1B1.13 (for example, the caregiver categories were eliminated from BOP criteria but family circumstances remain in § 1B1.13(b)(3)), so BOP criteria never define what a court may consider on a defendant's own motion. Clinical determinations rely on Compassionate Release Clinical Guidance that is not public.

Open official source ↗

Linked modules

Compassionate Release/Reduction in Sentence Procedures

Holding or rule used

  • p. 1: rescinds PS 5050.50; adds RRC and home-confinement eligibility; incorporates D.C. Code § 24-403.04 criteria; aligns categories with USSG § 1B1.13 (Nov. 1, 2023); eliminates the BOP's child-caregiver, spouse/registered-partner-caregiver, and elderly-without-medical-condition categories.
  • § 3, p. 3: a request is 'submitted' for § 3582(c)(1) when received by the Warden; 'Warden' includes the Residential Reentry Manager for RRC and home-confinement inmates; federal inmates in state custody send requests to the Regional Director.
  • § 3, p. 4: inmates who received a reduction, were released, and returned to BOP custody are not eligible; the Warden denies their requests.
  • § 4(a), pp. 4–5: for a terminal diagnosis, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(d)(2)(A) duties apply: notice to attorney, partner, and family within 72 hours that they may submit a request; visit opportunity within 7 days; staff assistance on request; processing within 14 days of a request; the Warden forwards the referral to OGC within 14 days.
  • § 4(b), p. 5: for an inmate unable to submit a request, § 3582(d)(2)(B) requires staff to inform attorney, partner, and family that they may submit one and to accept and process a request they submit.
  • §§ 4(c)–(e), 5, p. 6: BOP medical categories (terminal, debilitated, elderly 65+ who served the lesser of 10 years or 75% with serious age-related deterioration, infectious disease, other extraordinary medical) and age 70+ with 30 years served.
  • §§ 6–7, pp. 7–8: substantiated sexual abuse or physical abuse causing serious bodily injury by BOP personnel, with required request contents; such requests go to OGC.
  • § 9, pp. 9–10: factors considered in all requests, neither exclusive nor weighted, plus danger to any person or the community.
  • § 11, pp. 12–13: Warden denial appealable through 28 C.F.R. pt. 542, subpt. B; GC and Director denials final; the court-filing triggers are a BP-11 response, a GC or Director denial, or lapse of 30 days from the Warden's receipt, whichever is earlier.

Material limitation

Agency policy. The BOP categories are narrower than USSG § 1B1.13 (for example, the caregiver categories were eliminated from BOP criteria but family circumstances remain in § 1B1.13(b)(3)), so BOP criteria never define what a court may consider on a defendant's own motion. Clinical determinations rely on Compassionate Release Clinical Guidance that is not public.

Official source and pinpoints

BOP PS 5050.51 (Sept. 3, 2026): https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5050_051.pdf

Subsequent history

Approved Sept. 3, 2026 by Director William K. Marshall III; rescinds PS 5050.50 (p. 1). Read in full from the preserved snapshot on 2026-10-29.