Obama commutes sentences of 46 drug offenders

President Obama announced Monday he will commute “unduly harsh sentences” for 46 federal prisoners as part of a big clemency push his administration has been promising for the past year.

He said it was part of a wider effort to restore the sense of fairness in a “nation of second chances”.

Throughout this week President Obama will reportedly devote a significant amount of time and attention to the United States criminal justice system. His sentenced was amended to 293 months in prison in March.

Later this week, Obama is expected to discuss his plans for criminal justice reform further. Robert Earl Thomas, Jr. was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. “14 of them had been sentence to life for non-violent drug offenses”, the president said in a video. His sentence has been commuted to expire on November 10. “Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity”.

“I am granting your application because you have demonstrated the potential to turn your life around”, Obama said in a letter to each of the 46 men and women.

In making today’s announcement, President Obama stated that, “We spend over $80 billion in incarcerating people, often times who’ve only been engaged in nonviolent drug offenses”. And Thursday, he will visit the El Reno federal prison outside Oklahoma City, where he’ll meet with law enforcement officials and inmates.

“But they’re leaving behind many equally deserving people”, she said, “so let’s keep these commutations coming, while remembering that clemency is a tool made necessary by our failure to reform mandatory minimum sentencing laws”.

“The president’s decision to commute the sentences of 46 more individuals today is another sign of our commitment to correcting these inequities”, said Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, in a statement.

The latest batch of commutations brings Obama’s overall number of commutations to 89 people during his presidency.