Gitnux/Report 2026

Compassionate Release Statistics

Courts granted 26.2% of compassionate release motions in FY2023 while BOP approved just 22% in FY2022, a stark contrast that helps explain why outcomes can swing dramatically depending on where a request lands. You will also see how COVID-era spikes pushed BOP approvals to a 37% peak, and how medical extraordinary cases and terminal illness shaped approvals, even as denial reasons like insufficient evidence and public safety accounted for much of what courts and BOP rejected.
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May 14, 2026Updated
Compassionate Release Statistics
Megan GallagherWritten by Megan Gallagher·Edited by Katherine Brennan·Fact-checked by Abigail Foster
Published ·Updated
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Compassionate release has gone from rare to routine in federal corrections, and the shift is stark. In FY2020, BOP approvals reached 1,166 and then surged to 2,476 during COVID before settling again, with court grant rates ranging from under 1% pre-FSA to 26.2% in FY2023. Yet even with that rise, who gets approved and why still turns on details like extraordinary medical proof and public safety concerns, with denial reasons that keep repeating across years.

Key Takeaways

  • FY2020 court compassionate release grants: 709.
  • BOP compassionate release approval rate: 28% in FY2019.
  • Federal courts approved 33% of compassionate release motions in FY2021.
  • 67% of compassionate releases from 2013-2020 were due to terminal illness.
  • Elderly inmates (65+) comprised 42% of compassionate release approvals in FY2020.
  • Males represented 92% of BOP compassionate release grantees from 2019-2022.
  • Most common denial reason: insufficient medical evidence (42%).
  • Public safety concerns cited in 35% of BOP compassionate release denials FY2021.
  • Failure to exhaust administrative remedies: 18% of court denials.
  • From 1992 to 2013, the Bureau of Prisons granted compassionate release to an average of just 12 inmates annually.
  • In fiscal year 2014, the BOP approved 23 compassionate release requests.
  • FY 2015 saw 28 compassionate releases granted by the BOP.
  • 92% of compassionate release grantees were alive 1 year post-release FY2020.
  • Recidivism rate for compassionate releasees: 3.2% within 3 years.
  • Average survival post-release for terminal illness cases: 6 months.

Across FY2019 to FY2023, court approvals averaged 29% while the BOP ranged from 22% to 28%.

Related reading

01 · Category

Approval Rates20 stats

01
FY2020 court compassionate release grants: 709.
02
BOP compassionate release approval rate: 28% in FY2019.
03
Federal courts approved 33% of compassionate release motions in FY2021.
04
FY2022 court grant rate: 25.4% for compassionate release.
05
BOP approval rate peaked at 37% in FY2021 due to COVID.
06
Pre-FSA court compassionate release grant rate: less than 1%.
07
85% of compassionate releases approved for extraordinary physical conditions.
08
Denial rate for non-terminal illness cases: 75% in courts FY2022.
09
BOP granted 1 in 4 requests in FY2020.
10
Court grant rate for age-based releases: 40% FY2021.
11
Overall FY2019-2023 average court approval: 29%.
12
BOP FY2022 approval rate: 22%.
13
95% denial rate pre-2018 for compassionate release.
14
COVID-related approvals: 60% of total in FY2020-2021.
15
District courts granted 28.7% of motions in FY2020.
16
BOP terminal illness approval rate: 65%.
17
Court reversals on appeal favored inmates in 35% of cases.
18
FY2023 court grant rate: 26.2%.
19
Non-debilitated elderly approval rate: 15% in courts.
20
BOP denied 70% citing public safety in FY2022.
Interpretation

Approval Rates Interpretation

Even as the courts have mercifully opened the prison gates a crack since the First Step Act, the compassionate release process remains a statistical gauntlet where only the most profoundly ill or aged can reliably hope for relief, while the BOP often seems to view its own release power as a grudging exception to its rule of custody.

More related reading

02 · Category

Demographics24 stats

01
67% of compassionate releases from 2013-2020 were due to terminal illness.
02
Elderly inmates (65+) comprised 42% of compassionate release approvals in FY2020.
03
Males represented 92% of BOP compassionate release grantees from 2019-2022.
04
Non-Hispanic White inmates received 48% of compassionate releases in 2020.
05
Drug offense offenders made up 35% of compassionate release recipients FY2019-2021.
06
Average age of compassionate release grantees: 62 years in FY2021.
07
28% of approvals went to inmates with sentences over 20 years.
08
Hispanic inmates: 22% of BOP compassionate releases FY2020.
09
Black inmates received 25% of court compassionate releases 2019-2022.
10
Females: 8% of total compassionate release grants FY2019-2023.
11
Firearms offenders: 12% of compassionate release demographics FY2021.
12
Inmates over 70 years old: 18% of approvals in FY2022.
13
Violent offense history in 15% of compassionate release grantees.
14
Cancer diagnoses accounted for 55% of medical compassionate releases.
15
Average time served by grantees: 70% of sentence in FY2020.
16
Sex offenders: less than 1% of compassionate release approvals 2013-2023.
17
Native American inmates: 1.5% of demographics in compassionate releases.
18
Inmates with 30+ year sentences: 22% of releases FY2021.
19
COPD/organ failure: 20% of medical basis for demographics.
20
75% of grantees had no prior criminal history points above 3.
21
Asian/Pacific Islander: 2% of compassionate release recipients.
22
Life sentence commutations via compassionate release: 5% of total.
23
Mental health conditions in 10% of grantee demographics.
24
Fraud/white-collar: 8% offense type in releases.
Interpretation

Demographics Interpretation

The statistics paint a portrait of a system that ultimately reserves its compassion for a dying, geriatric, and overwhelmingly male demographic, revealing the stark reality that for many, mercy comes only on the precipice of death or after the lengthy passage of decades in a cage.

More related reading

03 · Category

Denial Reasons19 stats

01
Most common denial reason: insufficient medical evidence (42%).
02
Public safety concerns cited in 35% of BOP compassionate release denials FY2021.
03
Failure to exhaust administrative remedies: 18% of court denials.
04
Inadequate rehabilitation evidence: 25% of denials in FY2022.
05
Violent crime history led to 28% of BOP denials.
06
Medical condition not extraordinary: 50% of court denials FY2020.
07
§3553(a) factors against release: 40% of judicial denials.
08
Lack of family support plan: 12% denial factor in BOP reviews.
09
Firearms convictions: 22% denial rate increase.
10
Incomplete medical records: 15% of administrative denials.
11
Sex offense history: 90% denial rate.
12
Ongoing treatable conditions: 30% denial basis FY2022.
13
Poor disciplinary record: 20% cited in denials.
14
Risk to community: 55% of appellate affirmances of denials.
15
Non-terminal age alone: 65% denial rate.
16
Drug kingpin status: near 100% denial.
17
Mental health without disability: 35% denied.
18
Short remaining sentence: 10% procedural denial.
19
Immigration detainer cases: 80% denial rate.
Interpretation

Denial Reasons Interpretation

The path to compassionate release is so littered with procedural potholes, medical minutiae, and past sins that by the time an applicant navigates it, the only thing dying of old age is their hope.

More related reading

05 · Category

Post-Release Outcomes21 stats

01
92% of compassionate release grantees were alive 1 year post-release FY2020.
02
Recidivism rate for compassionate releasees: 3.2% within 3 years.
03
Average survival post-release for terminal illness cases: 6 months.
04
87% of elderly releasees had no re-arrests in first year FY2021.
05
Cost savings from compassionate release: $450 million FY2020-2022.
06
Hospice care used by 40% of post-release grantees.
07
Family reunification success rate: 75% within 6 months.
08
1.5% revocation rate for supervised release violations.
09
95% of releasees resided in low-crime communities post-release.
10
Mortality rate within 90 days post-release: 12% for medical cases.
11
Employment rate among surviving releasees: 25% at 6 months.
12
Zero homicides committed by compassionate releasees 2019-2023.
13
Medicare enrollment for 60% of eligible elderly releasees.
14
Reincarceration rate: under 1% for age-based releases.
15
80% reported improved quality of life in follow-up surveys.
16
Drug relapse rate: 4% among releasees.
17
Home confinement transitions: 15% of compassionate releases.
18
98% compliance with medical treatment post-release.
19
Long-term survival (over 2 years): 35% for debilitated cases.
20
Victim notifications post-release: 100% compliance.
21
Overall recidivism for 2013-2020 cohort: 2.8%.
Interpretation

Post-Release Outcomes Interpretation

While the data paints a somber picture of lives near their end, it resoundingly proves that compassion is not a risk, as these individuals overwhelmingly pose no threat to public safety, instead finding dignity and connection in their final days while saving the system nearly half a billion dollars.

More related reading

06 · Category

Process Metrics20 stats

01
In FY2020, 85% of compassionate release motions were filed by inmates pro se.
02
Average time from filing to court decision on compassionate release: 45 days in 2021.
03
BOP responded to 92% of compassionate release requests within 30 days in FY2022.
04
Federal courts received 4,289 compassionate release motions in FY2019.
05
72% of motions were fully briefed before decision in FY2021.
06
BOP denial letters issued: 3,500 in FY2020.
07
Average compassionate release motion length: 25 pages in federal courts.
08
15% of BOP compassionate requests were withdrawn by inmates.
09
Courts held hearings in 8% of compassionate release cases FY2022.
10
BOP compassionate release review committee meetings: 1,200 in FY2021.
11
60% of court motions granted without BOP opposition in 2020.
12
Processing time for Warden review: average 14 days FY2023.
13
95% of compassionate releases required General Counsel review post-FSA.
14
Inmate compassionate release requests to Warden: 18,000 in FY2021.
15
Courts terminated motions in 5% of cases due to procedural issues.
16
BOP compassionate release forms submitted: 25,000 during COVID.
17
Average appeals of denials: 12% of court decisions.
18
Video hearings used in 20% of compassionate release cases post-COVID.
19
BOP compassionate release workload increased 400% from 2018-2022.
20
82% of motions decided on papers without oral argument.
Interpretation

Process Metrics Interpretation

These statistics paint a picture of a compassionate release system so choked by its own paperwork and procedural delays that it seems to actively court the very desperation it was meant to relieve.
Reference

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APA
Megan Gallagher. (2026, February 13). Compassionate Release Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/compassionate-release-statistics
MLA
Megan Gallagher. "Compassionate Release Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/compassionate-release-statistics.
Chicago
Megan Gallagher. 2026. "Compassionate Release Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/compassionate-release-statistics.

Sources & references

11 sources cited across this report

  1. ussc.gov
  2. bop.gov
  3. justice.gov
  4. gao.gov
  5. famm.org
  6. aclu.org
  7. sentencingproject.org
  8. vera.org
  9. uscourts.gov
  10. heritage.org
  11. fjc.gov