President Obama continued to move forward on his initiative to grant clemency to prisoners given exorbitant sentences for non-violent crimes, on Tuesday [November 22]. The sentences of 79 inmates were commuted as a part of the effort, bringing the total number of releases he's called for to 351 since October.
"We have two months left before the inauguration...I anticipate we will keep going until the end," White House Counsel Neil Eggleston said of the priority he foresees will be given to the commutation of dozens, if not hundreds or even thousands more. The Department of Justice is said to be considering approximately 6,300 petitions submitted by non-violent criminals since August 31. One week ago the DOJ reported having received a petition listing 2 million signatures, from the family members of many inmates calling for the administration to speed up its clemency motion.
The sentences of 1,023 inmates have been shortened since Obama took office in 2008, which is more than the previous 11 presidents commuted combined. While 342 of those thus far released were serving life at the time of their pardon, most who've been given clemency were serving long sentences for low-level drug offenses, under what are now considered to be draconian policies from past administrations.
Source: instagram.com
