In United States v. King, --- F.4th ---, No. 21-10002 (9th Cir. 2022), the Court affirmed the district court’s denial of a motion for compassionate release.
The issue was whether inmates who committed crimes before November 1, 1987, can move for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1), as amended by the FSA. The Court held they cannot.
"Because the statutory scheme governing compassionate release procedures is unmistakably clear that prisoners who offended before November 1, 1987, cannot personally move for compassionate release under § 3582(c)(1), and there is neither ambiguity nor absurdity in what Congress has said, we may not consider King’s extrinsic evidence. The unambiguous statutory text controls and we go no further in deciding this case."
