WASHINGTON-In his most expansive use of clemency power to date, President Barack Obama issued 95 commutations and two pardons on Friday.
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However, Obama has been criticized because the number of sentences commuted is far less than former Attorney General Eric Holder apparently anticipated when he announced in 2013 a sweeping clemency project meant to alleviate sentencing disparities that disproportionately affect blacks. Most involved cocaine distribution.
Most of those have been for federal prisoners incarcerated for drug offenses who received long sentences mandated under guidelines set during a drug-and-crime wave in the 1980s.
Those granted clemency on Friday will spend about four months transitioning to lower-security prisons and halfway houses before they are released from custody, probably in April, the Post explains. In the letter, Obama wrote, “I believe in your ability to prove the doubters wrong, and change your life for the better”.
Obama is also pardoning an OH man sentenced to probation in a counterfeiting case and a Virginia woman sentenced to home detention and supervised release in a bank fraud case.
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“The president’s decision today to commute the prison terms of 95 individuals is another sign of this administration’s strong commitment to ensuring fairness in the criminal justice system”. Advocates for reducing the USA prison population have focused on reforming penalties for non-violent drug offenders.
