Many people talk about criminal justice reform. Very few actually do anything about it. But President Obama has taken his own step towards revamping the American criminal justice system by shortening the prison sentences of 58 inmates. The previous group of people whose sentences were shortened by the President, just last month, totaled 61.
According to the President, his ability to grant commutations and pardons to citizens of the United States “embodies the basic belief in our democracy that people deserve a second chance.” In many of these cases, the Judges that passed sentence on the inmates agree with him.
Judges felt the sentences were too harsh
Almost all of the 61 people granted early release were non-violent offenders that were serving time for drug-related crimes. In many of their cases, the judges who handed down their sentences had gone on the record to say that they felt the sentences were too harsh, but their hands were tied due to Federal sentencing guidelines or harsh mandatory minimum sentencing.
Aside from simply releasing another group of people from lengthy prison sentences, the President has taken the issue a step further. He recently met with a group of people whose sentences he previously commuted, to discuss with them the struggles they faced when re-entering society after release.
The stories he heard, according to the President, were “extraordinary.” In the case of one woman, who had struggled with a crack cocaine addiction and finally turned herself in during her pregnancy, she went on to study social work after her release and become an advocate.
Thus far, including this most recent group of 58, this brings the total number of inmates granted commutations by President Obama to 306. This includes 110 prisoners who were sentenced to life in prison. This is a rather staggering number, as it is more than the total number of commutations by the previous six presidents combined. Additionally, the number is expected to rise as we head toward the November elections. Understand there is a difference between commutation and pardon in the Federal justice system. A commutation is just a shorter sentence. A pardon is being excused for committing the crime as if it never happened.
Neil Eggleston, the White House counsel, stated in a recent blog post that for the remainder of his time in office, President Obama intends to “continue to issue more grants of clemency as well as to strengthen rehabilitation programs.” It is often felt that a President’s last few months in office are just a waiting game, but it is clear that Obama intends to use every last minute granted to him to continue as an activist in any way that he can.