Obama Commutes Sentences for 58 Federal Prisoners
- May 5, 2016
- 1 min read
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More than a decade ago, a judge bemoaned that the life sentence she was about to impose on Charles C. Brown was overly harsh. This week, relief finally came to Brown, along with 57 other offenders.
President Barack Obama on Thursday commuted their prison terms as part of a broader push to revamp the criminal justice system and ease punishments for nonviolent drug convicts.
Eighteen of the 58 had been given life sentences and some have already spent more than decades in prison. Most are now due for release on Sept. 2. Others will be released over the next two years.
The latest wave — among them defendants convicted of either possessing or dealing cocaine, crack and methamphetamine — brings to 306 the number of people granted clemency by Obama, the vast majority for drug crimes. The administration has said the pace of commutations is expected to increase as the end of Obama's presidency nears.
The prisoners given commutations have been "granted a second chance to lead productive and law-abiding lives," said Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates.
"Our clemency work is continuing as part of our broader efforts to effectuate criminal justice reform and ensure fairness and proportionality in sentencing," Yates said.
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