In what became the largest termination in centuries, President Obama on Wednesday cut short the sentences of 214 federal inmates. Among the inmates, a majority were sentenced stemming from narcotics possessions such as cocaine and methamphetamines.
Obama has aggressively stated in the past that there must be major remedies in terms of the amount of individuals put behind bars and the duration of their sentencing. Fox news reported that 562 sentences have been commuted during Obama’s presidency which is more than nine of his preceding presidents combined. Among those commuted, 200 inmates were receiving life sentences.
It is typical for presidents to hand out commutations and pardons towards the end of their presidency. However, the increasing political climate over the election race and the GOP’s stance on keeping America safe has been a downside for Obama’s image over whether he is weak on crime and immigration.
White house council Neil Eggleston spoke on behalf of the President’s actions.
“The individual nature of the clemency process underscores both its incredible power to change a person’s life, but also its inherent shortcoming as a tool for broader sentencing reform,” Eggleston said regarding Wednesday’s commutations. “That is why action from Congress is so important. While we continue to work to act on as many clemency applications as possible, only legislation can bring about lasting change to the federal system. It is critical that both the House and the Senate continue to work on a bipartisan basis to get a criminal justice reform bill to the president’s desk.”
The fact that this is being pushed at such a fast pace is being praised by Civil Liberties groups but also criticized for its lack of time spent into clemencing a criminal case without further legislation or precaution.
“A group of fellow citizens finally got the punishment they deserved,” said a spokesman for the Family Against Mandatory Minimums. “Not less, but at long last, not more.”
