Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release

by Dale Chappell

ederal courts have increasingly rejected the government’s argument that the U.S. Sentencing Commission lacked authority in implementing U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“USSG”) § 1B1.13(b)(6). This provision, effective as of November 2023, allows courts to consider non-retroactive changes in sentencing laws when determining whether a prisoner’s sentence is unusually …