President Obama Grants 330 Commutations in Historic Final Act. - Printable Version +- Rogue-Nation3 (https://rogue-nation3.com) +-- Forum: Rogue Politics (https://rogue-nation3.com/forum-15.html) +--- Forum: America's Ex-President Obama (https://rogue-nation3.com/forum-18.html) +--- Thread: President Obama Grants 330 Commutations in Historic Final Act. (/thread-1565.html) |
President Obama Grants 330 Commutations in Historic Final Act. - BIAD - 01-22-2017 President Obama Grants 330 Commutations in Historic Final Act. 'President Obama capped an extraordinary week in clemency activity Thursday when he shortened the prison sentences of 330 drug offenders, the largest single batch of White House commutations in history. The announcement, less than 24 hours before he leaves office, came two days after Obama handed out 209 commutations and 64 pardons, part of his unprecedented effort to show mercy to drug offenders serving epic prison terms. Obama has now commuted the sentences of 1,715 people, more than any of his predecessors. "The President set out to reinvigorate clemency, and he has done just that," White House Chief Counsel Neil Eggleston said in a statement. But, for advocates, there is a more somber side to Obama's initiative: the thousands of inmates whose petitions were denied, the thousands who are still waiting for a decision, and the relatively small number of pardon applications he approved. The future of his project remains in doubt under Donald Trump. The clemency push came late in Obama's presidency, as he granted just a few dozen in the first six years. Then, in 2014, after becoming more actively supportive of criminal justice reform, he put out a call for applications from nonviolent offenders who were sentenced to prison before the easing of notoriously harsh mandatory minimum laws in 2010. That triggered a deluge of petitions. Obama solicited help from the nation's bar and from advocacy organizations, but the program struggled through a backlog. Lawyers in the Justice Department reportedly worked around the clock in recent months to get through the stack...' SOURCE: RE: President Obama Grants 330 Commutations in Historic Final Act. - BIAD - 01-22-2017 Just as a add-on, here's another view on Mr. Obama's time in office. |