Last Friday, President Obama granted clemency to 72 more federal inmates. White House Counsel Neil Eggleston said, “What President Obama has done for commutations is unprecedented in the modern era.” Eggleston posted this on the White House blog Friday:
“Following last Thursday’s grant of 98 commutations, today, President Obama granted commutation to another 72 federal inmates. In just an eight-day period, the President has issued two rounds of grants, totaling 170 commutations. With today’s grants, the President has now commuted the sentences of 944 individuals, including 324 life sentences.”
The 72 felons who received commuted sentences includes 8 convicted of firearms offenses including carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, felon in possession and illegal possession of firearm by felon. To date, Obama has granted clemency to more convicted felons than any other president in history. Obama has granted clemency to 944 inmates, including 324 prisoners who were serving life sentences. He plans on granting even more commutations before he leaves the White House in January.
The Clemency Project 2014, which is a group of about 4,000 volunteer lawyers from across the country, prepared at least 469 of the total clemency petitions that have been signed by Obama. Kevin Ring, vice president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said that the inmates granted clemency Friday are “not getting relief or mercy.” “They are getting justice,” Ring said.
[revad2]
