Sentence Challenge Not Allowed in Compassionate Release Request

An inmate seeking a compassionate release from prison can’t use his request to challenge his conviction and sentence, the Fourth Circuit said Tuesday.

Dwayne Ferguson filed a pro se request for a compassionate release in 2020 because of health issues and the spread of Covid in prisons. It his petition, he also challenged his conviction and sentence. The district court denied his request, saying the proper vehicle to challenge a conviction or sentence in federal court is 28 U.S.C. §2255.

Compassionate release is authorized if a district court finds “extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant” a sentencing reduction, the opinion ...