President Obama commuted the sentences of 46 drug offenders convicted of non-violent crimes. The news comes Monday, just days after he announced his prison reform plans. Hit the jump for all the details.
President Obama stated, “These men and women were not hard criminals,” He added, “Their punishment did not fit the crime.”
This reform raises the number of Obama’s commutations to nearly 90. Many of those who have been released were in federal prisons for non-violent drug offenses. Obama stated, “I believe at its heart America is a nation of second chance, and I believe these folks deserve their second chance.”
President Obama wrote each of the 46 prisoners a letter to let them know if his decision. To one of the 46, Jerry Allen Bailey, who was serving 30 years for conspiracy to violate drug laws in North Carolina the president wrote: “I am granting your application because you have demonstrated the potential to turn your life around. Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity.”
The president also plans to address criminal justice reform in a speech Tuesday to the NAACP in Philadelphia.
Source CNN
