Spotlighting new book that spotlights First Step Act compassionate release and sentence reconsideration

I was pleased to see that Adam Liptak today committed his Sidebar column in the New York Times to federal compassionate release issues in conjunction with US District Judge Frederic Block's new book  on the topic, "A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It."  I recommend both the full NYTimes article and the full book.  The subtitle of the article serves as a kind of summary of both: "In a new book, Judge Frederic Block, who has served for decades, urged courts to vindicate the promise of the First Step Act, which lets prisoners ask for compassionate release from their sentences."  And here are excerpts from the article:

Judge Frederic Block is 90, and he has had decades to consider what counts as his gravest responsibility. “Look,” he said over the phone the other day, “the most important part of the job of a district court judge is sentencing.”...

Still, sometimes a sentence that made sense when it was imposed can look like a bad fit over time. Prisoners grow old or get sick.  The laws under which they were sentenced change.  Others who committed the same crimes get starkly different prison terms. Doubts arise about guilt.  On occasion, everyone agrees that the prisoner has been thoroughly rehabilitated.

In a timely book to be published next week, Judge Block makes a vigorous case for giving judges wide discretion to revisit sentencing decisions, describing cases he has encountered and urging states to adopt a more lenient approach.

The book, “A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It,” arrives as federal courts are deeply divided on the question, one prompted by an extraordinary 2018 law, the First Step Act.  The law, enacted by enormous bipartisan margins and with President Donald J. Trump’s backing, overhauled federal sentencing.  A major feature of the law lets prisoners file motions for compassionate release in “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances.

“The First Step Act just really changed the sentencing landscape in the United States, because we are getting these motions every week,” said Judge Block, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton.  “As I speak right now, I probably have two new ones today,” he said. “Understandably, the district court bench will be inundated with them.  Because if you’re in jail and you have the opportunity to make an application asking the district court judge to reduce your sentence, you want to do it.”

But what counts as “extraordinary and compelling” is deeply contested.