Obama Grants 153 Commutations, 78 Pardons to Convicted Felons

By Jenn Jacques

According to the White House Blog, Barack Obama is wrapping up his presidency much like he spent his time in the Oval Office: ignoring the need for criminal justice reform and continuing to support criminals who have brazenly chosen to ignore the law.

Neil Eggleston, White House Counsel to the President, released the following announcement yesterday:

Today, President Obama granted clemency to 231 deserving individuals — the most individual acts of clemency granted in a single day by any president in this nation’s history. With today’s 153 commutations, the President has now commuted the sentences of 1,176 individuals, including 395 life sentences. The President also granted pardons to 78 individuals, bringing his total number of pardons to 148. Today’s acts of clemency — and the mercy the President has shown his 1,324 clemency recipients — exemplify his belief that America is a nation of second chances.

Although the president still plans to issue even more grants of both commutations and pardons before finally leaving office in January, he has already surpassed every other president in his pursuit to show ‘mercy’ to “deserving individuals” – criminals previously found guilty of such offenses as possession of a firearm by a convicted person, possession of …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms