President Obama Has Now Commuted the Sentences of 248 Individuals [View all]

Summary: Underscoring his commitment to reforming our criminal justice system, President Obama will meet with past commutation recipients to discuss the reentry process..






Today, the President announced 61 new grants of commutation to individuals serving years in prison under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws. More than one-third of them were serving life sentences. To date, the President has now commuted the sentences of 248 individuals – more than the previous six Presidents combined. And, in total, he has commuted 92 life sentences.




Underscoring his commitment not just to clemency, but to helping those who earn their freedom make the most of their second chance, the President will meet today with commutation recipients from both his Administration and the previous administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. During the meeting, the commutation recipients will discuss their firsthand experiences with the reentry process and ways that the process can be strengthened to give every individual the resources he or she needs to transition from prison and lead a fulfilling, productive life.

Building on this conversation, tomorrow the White House will host a briefing titled Life After Clemency with advocates, academics, and Administration officials to discuss and share ideas on the President’s clemency initiative and ways to improve paths to reentry. In addition to officials from the White House and the Department of Justice, experts, academics, and commutation recipients will share their expertise and insights on returning to society after years behind bars. To watch the briefing live, tune in tomorrow, Thursday, March 31, at 2:00 PM EDT at www.whitehouse.gov/live.

Throughout the remainder of his time in office, the President is committed to continuing to issue more grants of clemency as well as to strengthening rehabilitation programs. As he wrote in a letter to the 61 individuals receiving clemency today:

“The power to grant pardons and commutations… 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.”

Read More: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/03/30/president-obama-has-now-commuted-sentences-248-individuals

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Some images from the Obama Diary

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“America Is A Nation Of Second Chances”


The White House
✔ ‎‎@WhiteHouse

"I believe America is a nation of second chances" —@POTUS on granting clemency to 61 people: http://go.wh.gov/xAN2ft

5:20 PM - 30 Mar 2016


Valerie Jarrett
✔ ‎‎@vj44

.@POTUS invited the group to @busboysandpoets! He showed people what a second chance can look like.

4:36 PM - 30 Mar 2016







Read More: http://theobamadiary.com/2016/03/30/chat-away-801/

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This is what he will be doing after he leaves office. I read somewhere that he would work on his "My Brothers Keeper". He is going back to his passion as a Community Organizer, he will do everything he can to make life better for so many. Justice.

Thank you Mr President.