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Obama commutes the prison sentences of 46 drug offenders
President Obama on Monday commuted the sentences of 46 people convicted of drug crimes, the most sweeping use of his executive power to date to address what many say are unfair sentences for non-violent offenders.
"I believe, at its heart, America is a nation of second chances," Obama said in a video posted to the White House’s Facebook page. "I believe these folks deserve their second chance."
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Obama’s moves come as his administration is sharpening its focus on reforming the criminal justice system. Part of that push is allowing inmates convicted of drug crimes under previous, tougher federal sentencing guidelines to seek clemency.
The vast majority of the offenders granted relief on Monday were convicted for crimes involving different types of cocaine, 14 of whom were sentenced to life. Obama said almost everyone granted the commutations would have already been released from prison had they been sentenced under today's guidelines.
“Their punishments didn’t fit the crimes,” he said.
After the latest commutations were announced, the White House posted a letter that Obama sent to Jerry Bailey, one of the prisoners granted clemency.
“I am granting your application because you have demonstrated the potential to turn your life around,” Obama wrote to Bailey, who was held at a prison in Jesup, Ga. “Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity.”
The commutations coincide with a new White House push aimed at pressuring Congress to take action on criminal justice reform legislation.
On Thursday, Obama will become the first sitting president to visit a federal prison when he travels to the El Reno Correctional Facility in Oklahoma.
The prison visit will come on the heels of a speech Tuesday at the NAACP’s National Conference in Philadelphia, where Obama is expected to call for lower mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenders.
Since the administration issued a call for inmates to seek clemency last year, more than 30,000 have applied, according to The New York Times.
But the complex review process has been slow to produce results. Including Monday’s announcement, Obama has commuted the sentences of 89 inmates during his presidency, spokesman Josh Earnest said.
But the White House sought to highlight the groundbreaking nature of the announcement, noting it is the most commutations issued in a single day since the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson.
Obama has also commuted sentences of more inmates than the last four presidents combined, the White House said.
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