It was a good day for the 61 drug offenders when U.S. President Barack Obama's clemency on the inmates were announced on Wednesday. The non-violent drug offenders were serving life in prison as the federal sentencing law impose harsh punishment for the sale and distribution of cocaine and other drugs.
Some of the 61 drug offenders are to be freed on July 28, while the rest will be released on Sept. 26 and March 30 of the following year, Yahoo reported. Obama's clemency to 61 drug offenders totals to 248 inmates that he had released in the past years. The total of inmates released by Obama through commutation is more than the combined record of the past six presidents. The White House gave a hint that Obama could give more clemency before the end of his term.
"The power to grant pardons and commutations," Mr. Obama wrote in his letter to the 61 inmates, "embodies the basic belief in our democracy that people deserve a second chance after having made a mistake in their lives that led to a conviction under our laws."
Obama's clemency to the 61 drug offenders was part of his effort to reform the U.S. criminal justice system. He expressed his willingness to lessen the number of inmates serving life sentences due to non-violent drug crimes, Reuters reports. During Obama's lunch meeting with the drug offenders who were commuted, he reinstated what it was like to get a second chance at life. The White House also declared that Obama is committed to strengthen more rehabilitation programs.
"It is my strong belief that by exercising these presidential powers, I have the chance to show people what a second chance can look like," Obama told reporters.
After Obama's clemency announcement, the White House shared how the U.S. president wants to help the former inmates to become a better member of the society. In fact, Obama is set to meet with supporters and administration officers to discuss the plans on how they can help the former inmates return to normal lives, New York Times reports.
Obama's clemency to inmates who were imprisoned for long duration of time for non-violent offenses had been set for a long time. As per the White House announcement, Obama will issue a commutation to federal inmates as his term finishes next year.
