Obama shortens sentences of 214 inmates, including 67 lifers
- 8 years ago
President Obama on Wednesday shortened the sentences of 214 federal inmates, including 67 life sentences, in what the White House called the largest batch of commutations on a single day in more than a century.
Almost all the prisoners were serving time for nonviolent crimes related to cocaine, methamphetamine or other drugs, though a few were charged with firearms violations related to their drug activities.
Obama has long called for phasing out strict sentences for drug offenses, arguing they lead to excessive punishment and incarceration rates unseen in other developed countries.
The Obama administration also expanded criteria for inmates applying for clemency, prioritizing nonviolent offenders who behaved well in prison, aren't closely tied to gangs and would have received shorter sentences if they had been convicted a few years later.
Almost all the prisoners were serving time for nonviolent crimes related to cocaine, methamphetamine or other drugs, though a few were charged with firearms violations related to their drug activities.
Obama has long called for phasing out strict sentences for drug offenses, arguing they lead to excessive punishment and incarceration rates unseen in other developed countries.
The Obama administration also expanded criteria for inmates applying for clemency, prioritizing nonviolent offenders who behaved well in prison, aren't closely tied to gangs and would have received shorter sentences if they had been convicted a few years later.