Obama Hits Another Record For Most Commutations Granted

By Erika Haas

On Tuesday, after reducing 79 more federal inmates’ sentences, President Obama granted and passed the 1,000th commutation during his two terms as President.

To be more specific, Obama has granted 1,023 people clemency throughout his time in office—that’s more than his eleven predecessors combined.

Most of those who received reduced sentences are non-violent drug offenders. However, some were also guilty of firearms violations related to drug crimes.

The Obama administration believes that these sentences are overly harsh—342 of the 1,023 prisoners who received clemency were serving life sentences.

According to USA Today, Obama once said in a Facebook post that “it makes no sense” for nonviolent drug offenders to serve “decades, or sometimes life, in prison.”

In the same post, he wrote, “That’s not serving taxpayers, and it’s not serving the public safety. Instead, it burdens our already overcrowded prisons. And it hurts families.”

Criminal justice groups are encouraging Obama to grant even more commutations before his presidency ends, fearing Trump will not be as forgiving.

The post Obama Hits Another Record For Most Commutations Granted appeared first on Bearing Arms.

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Source:: Bearing Arms