President Grants Clemency to 102 Federal Inamates

Photo courtesy of Common Dreams

President Obama shortened sentences for 102 federal inmates Thursday, adding momentum to his push to put mandatory minimums back into the limelight and bring about criminal justice reform. The newest clemency grants bring President Obama's grand total of shortened sentences to 774, which is more than the previous 11 presidents put together, according to the White House.
In his article, Josh Lederman discusses the types of sentences that were shortened- mostly convictions of "nonviolent crimes related to cocaine, methamphetamine or other drugs"- and the timeline of when the shortened sentences will go into affect. He also writes about the criteria the Obama administration uses when looking into granting clemency and how it has changed over the years.
Issuing this many commutations is a strategic move by the president. By using his ability to commute sentences- and taking it to a whole new level in terms of numbers- he is bringing this to the attention of the American public. By doing this in an election year, he and his administration are making sure that there will be a conversation about criminal justice reform and that the people campaigning for re-election, from the top of the ballot down, will need to address this issue to the voters. Unfortunately in his terms in office, President Obama was not able to bring about reform in the criminal justice system. But by making it a current issue, he is ensuring that the next group of people holding office and who have the power to bring about this reform are going to not only talk about it, but hopefully do something about it.