AMENDMENT 698
The Commentary to §1B1.13 captioned "Application Notes" is amended in Note 1 by striking subdivision (A) as follows:
"(A) Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons.—A determination made by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons that a particular case warrants a reduction for extraordinary and compelling reasons shall be considered as such for purposes of subdivision (1)(A).",
and inserting the following:
"(A) Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons.—Provided the defendant meets the requirements of subdivision (2), extraordinary and compelling reasons exist under any of the following circumstances:
(i) The defendant is suffering from a terminal illness.
(ii) The defendant is suffering from a permanent physical or medical condition, or is experiencing deteriorating physical or mental health because of the aging process, that substantially diminishes the ability of the defendant to provide self-care within the environment of a correctional facility and for which conventional treatment promises no substantial improvement.
(iii) The death or incapacitation of the defendant’s only family member capable of caring for the defendant’s minor child or minor children.
(iv) As determined by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, there exists in the defendant’s case an extraordinary and compelling reason other than, or in combination with, the reasons described in subdivisions (i), (ii), and (iii).".
The Commentary to §1B1.13 is amended by striking the commentary captioned "Background" as follows:
"Background: This policy statement is an initial step toward implementing 28 U.S.C. § 994(t). The Commission intends to develop further criteria to be applied and a list of specific examples of extraordinary and compelling reasons for sentence reduction pursuant to such statute.",
and inserting the following:
"Background: This policy statement implements 28 U.S.C. § 994(t).".
Reason for Amendment: This amendment modifies the policy statement at §1B1.13 (Reduction in Term of Imprisonment as a Result of Motion by Director of Bureau of Prisons) to further effectuate the directive in 28 U.S.C. § 994(t). Section 994(t) provides that the Commission "in promulgating general policy statements regarding the sentence modification provisions in section 3582(c)(1)(A) of title 18, shall describe what should be considered extraordinary and compelling reasons for sentence reduction, including the criteria to be applied and a list of specific examples." The amendment revises Application Note 1(A) of §1B1.13 to provide four examples of circumstances that, provided the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any other person or to the community, would constitute "extraordinary and compelling reasons" for purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
Effective Date: The effective date of this amendment is November 1, 2007.