This is the fourth batch of commutations in 2016 alone, suggesting that the president will continue to lower the sentences for more prisoners by the end of his tenure.
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To date, Obama has granted 562 commutations, more than the previous nine presidents combined, and more clemency actions that by any other president in almost a century.
The White House released a statement that the majority of Obama’s commutations were for people “incarcerated under outdated sentencing laws”. The initiative emphasizes aiding nonviolent drug offenders who have served more than a decade in jail with good conduct and who would be eligible for shorter sentences were they convicted today.
Jones said even though he was serving a life sentence, she always believed he would get out.
Gargano was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release on November 20, 2004 for conspiracy to distribute methylenedioxymethamphetamine and ketamine, and distributing and possessing with intent to distribute ecstasy. They were sentenced to 240 months imprisonment with 10 years of supervised release.
The Obama administration’s focus in granting clemency has been on inmates convicted of nonviolent drug offenses and are serving sentences that, if those same people were found guilty today, would not be as long.
All three were serving at least 20 years for crack cocaine distribution offenses.
The president’s clemency power usually takes one of two forms: pardons, which give offenders full legal forgiveness for their crimes, and commutations, which shorten prison sentences but often leave other conditions intact. The White House announced Wednesday their sentences will be commuted to expire on December 1.
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of cocaine base.
Corey Ferguson of Bowling Green was also sentenced back in 2008 to 300 months in prison. Obama has argued that laws requiring mandatory minimum sentences for those types of crimes are unfair and has sought to reduce the prison terms for individuals who would already be free under current guidelines. It added that the process isn’t over, and “we expect that many more men and women will be given a second chance”.
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Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
