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Obama Cuts Short The Sentences Of 111 Federal Inmates


President Barack Obama cut short on Tuesday the sentences of 111 federal inmates in another round of commutations for those convicted of nonviolent drug offenses.

Obama has long called for phasing out strict sentences for drug convictions, arguing they lead to excessive punishment and incarceration rates unseen in other developed countries.

White House Counsel Neil Eggleston said the commutations underscored the president’s commitment to using his clemency authority to give deserving individuals a second chance. He said that Obama has granted a total of 673 commutations, more than the previous 10 presidents combined. More than a third of the recipients were serving life sentences.

“We must remember that these are individuals — sons, daughters, parents, and in many cases, grandparents — who have taken steps toward rehabilitation and who have earned their second chance,” Eggleston said. “They are individuals who received unduly harsh sentences under outdated laws for committing largely nonviolent drug crimes.”

Eggleston noted that Obama also granted commutation to 214 federal inmates earlier in the month. With Tuesday’s additions, Obama has granted the greatest number of commutations for a single month of any president.

Eggleston says he expects Obama to continue using his clemency authority through the end of his administration. He said the relief points to the need for Congress to take up criminal justice reform. Such legislation has stalled, undercut by a rash of summer shootings involving police and the pressure of election-year politics.

Two goals of the legislation are to reduce overcrowding in the nation’s prisons and save taxpayer dollars. In 1980, the federal prison population was less than 25,000. Today, it is more than 200,000.

But the legislation’s supporters have encountered opposition from some Republicans who argue that changes could lead to an increase in crime and pose a greater danger to law enforcement.

Eggleston said Obama considered the individual merits of each application to determine that an applicant is ready to make use of their second chance.

One of those granted relief was Tim Tyler, who at 25 was sentenced to life in federal prison for possession with intent to deliver LSD as he followed the Grateful Dead. He is now set to be released on August 30, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment. Families Against Mandatory Minimums, an advocacy group, said it had been working on the Tyler family’s behalf.

“We applaud the president for using the clemency power to free people who fully expected to die in prison and for shining a light on the excesses of federal drug sentencing.” said Julie Stewart, the group’s president.

The release dates for the inmates vary. Most are set to be released December 28.

Legal groups supporting the president’s actions have formed an organization called Clemency Project 2014 that has submitted some 1,600 clemency petitions to the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney. The group said a prisoner must have served at least 10 years of his or her sentence to be considered for a commutation grant and must be a non-violent offender without significant ties to gangs or cartels. The inmate also must have demonstrated good conduct in prison while serving a sentence that likely would have been substantially lower if handed out today.

“We are looking forward to many more grants during the remaining months of President Obama’s term in office,” said the group’s project manager, Cynthia Roseberry.

(AP)



13 Responses

  1. What the heck? First empty out Gitmo and then the federal prisons. He has nothing to worry about as he gets to have secret service for the rest of his miserable life.

  2. rubashkin is going nowhere. pay attention please. were talking here about drug offenders. rubashkin committed federal bank fraud and faught the feds on it. hes not going anwhere

  3. To comment er no. 1, “MoisheInGolus”: You evidently do not believe the article, as it makes clear that the commutations were for non-violent felons. As for your use of the term “thug in chief” to refer to the commander in chief of US armed forces, that is a horrible insult to the US armed forces. By what measure has President Obama or the military he commands been “thuggish”.

  4. I think everyone should contact the White House and request the freeing of Shalom Rubashkin. He got 27 years for what? No crime was committed. He was set up. Let’s do something good and useful and raise our voices to help free this honorable father.

  5. To #7 huju

    It is not that i “do not believe the article”. It is that i do not believe anything that comes out of this liar’s in chief mouth. Most of these “non-violent felons” are called non-violent because they have not kill anyone yet. But the illegal drugs they push do cause death am misery. Just look at Chicago and Detroit. And yes, Obama is a thug in chief. True commander in chief of US armed forces does not destroy military capability of his country and spread corruption and deceit within high command, not to mention aiding and abetting US mortal enemies like Iran and ISIS. And true commander in chief does not abandon US Ambassador and his security stuff to the murderous terrorists and then lies bout it.

  6. so much for the separation of powers.

    The Constitution (you know, that document that gave us the separation of powers) specifically gives the President the power to pardon federal crimes.

    The Wolf

  7. No.9

    Do you really believe SMR was “set up” and committed no crimes?? If so, you really have some issues to deal with. Start by reading the court’s decision, the testimony of over 20 witnesses and the denial of his appeals by the federal district and circuit courts. I’m not sure anyone could be so naive but perhaps I misjudged you.

  8. Gadolhadorah, be careful. If you believe everything prosecution and “witnesses” say about the defendant then you must accept Blood Libel too.

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