WASHINGTON (AP) 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.
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The early releases are for mostly non-violent drug offenders who would receive lighter sentencing if they were convicted now.
The announcement adds to the number of commutations already announced by the Obama, who has repeatedly spoken out about the unfairness and ineffectiveness of the nation’s antiquated, overly harsh sentencing laws for drug crimes, and brings the total number of sentences the President has shortened over his tenure in office to 673.
The latest round of commutations is part of Obama’s efforts to help those who have been hit with lengthy prison sentences in the government’s decades-long war on drugs.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (April 4, 2002); then amended on appeal to 360 months’ imprisonment on August 7, 2006.
Eggleston said he expects Obama to continue granting commutations through the end of his administration, but that only legislation can ensure the federal sentencing system operates more fairly. He was sentenced to 20 years for the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine in 2009. Most will be released July 28.
Derrick Lewis Bynum of Hyattsville was sentenced to 25 years in 2006 for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute drugs, use of a communications device to facilitate narcotics trafficking and possession of a firearm.
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Smith, who was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison, is also scheduled to be released in December. In 2007, he was sentenced to 15 years, eight months, for the intent to distribute crack cocaine. Mark only learned about the government’s offer after he had been found guilty at trial, about a month after his sentencing hearing. In addition to the 325 commutations granted this month, Obama also quietly denied 2,227 cases on August 8.
