Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28th, 2026

Media Contact:
teamfamm@mrss.com

Washington, D.C. – In response to today’s decisions by the Supreme Court in Fernandez v. United States and Carter/Rutherford v. United States, Shanna Rifkin, General Counsel for FAMM, issued the following reaction:

“We are deeply concerned with how the flawed legal thinking reflected in these opinions will impact real people who are serving unjust sentences that would not be imposed today,” said Rifkin. “Today, the United States Supreme Court slammed the door shut on people serving federal sentences decades or lifetimes longer than are permitted by Congress today under the First Step Act. The Court ruled that now-repudiated sentences cannot be corrected using the ‘compassionate release’ statute, condemning those sentenced before the First Step Act to serve out sentences so unconscionable that even Congress has abandoned them. These decisions undermine the core values that animate the compassionate release statute.”

“The Supreme Court, while claiming to honor the First Step Act, is directly contradicting Congress’s intent with these decisions. Both opinions look primarily to the Bureau of Prisons’ view of the contours of compassionate release, which undermines the First Step Act’s aim to limit the BOP’s role.”

“Finally, the majority’s use of casual hypotheticals — analogizing to business trips and dietician-prescribed meals — to explain the scope of what are extraordinary and compelling reasons justifying compassionate release trivializes the harm the opinion will inflict. It emphasizes how out of touch the court is when it comes to the lives of people in prison and their family members.”

“Despite this disappointing news, FAMM will continue to work in the courts, Congress, and federal agencies to achieve justice for people who are incarcerated under unjust sentencing laws and their families who serve their imprisonment with them.”

Rifkin directs the Federal Compassionate Release Clearinghouse, oversees FAMM’s Supreme Court practice, and advocates for reform of federal sentencing and corrections law and policy before the United States Sentencing Commission, Congress, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the U.S. Department of Justice.

About FAMM

Since FAMM‘s founding in 1991, it has helped more than 500,000 Americans receive shorter, fairer prison sentences. FAMM and its advocates have also helped reduce the nation’s prison population by approximately 200,000 people and reduce racial disparities in sentencing, bringing the nation’s Black prison population to its lowest level since 1989.

FAMM’s mission is to create a more fair and effective justice system that respects our American values of individual accountability and dignity while keeping our communities safe. This mission not only reduces unnecessary suffering for incarcerated people, but also for their family members who have to serve the sentence along with their incarcerated loved one.

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