With today’s 153 commutations, the President has now commuted the sentences of 1,176 individuals, including 395 life sentences. The President also granted pardons to 78 individuals, bringing his total number of pardons to 148.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...obama-is-no-longer-least-generous-since-1800s
President Barack Obama issued 78 pardons Monday, more than doubling the number he has issued since taking office and shedding the superlative of being the most ungenerous full-term president since John Adams, who lost a re-election bid more than 200 years ago.
Obama also shortened the sentences of 153 people as part of a clemency effort largely benefiting drug convicts that was launched in 2014.
Pardons and commutations serve different purposes. Commutations – of which Obama has issued 1,176 – let people out of prison early. A pardon would also let prisoners go free, but it’s often sought to alleviate life-limiting consequences of convictions.
The White House, which has regularly heralded Obama’s sentence-commuting initiative amid a small number of pardons, said in a blog post it was “the most individual acts of clemency granted in a single day by any president in this nation’s history.”
Obama has faced sustained criticism throughout his presidency for the small number of pardons he issued, and in August he said he would leave office with "roughly" the same number of pardons issued as his predecessors.
It’s unclear why Obama until now has given so few pardons. Theories vary, from sluggish application processing to a fear of political consequences, such as those that faced Clinton.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...obama-is-no-longer-least-generous-since-1800s
President Barack Obama issued 78 pardons Monday, more than doubling the number he has issued since taking office and shedding the superlative of being the most ungenerous full-term president since John Adams, who lost a re-election bid more than 200 years ago.
Obama also shortened the sentences of 153 people as part of a clemency effort largely benefiting drug convicts that was launched in 2014.
Pardons and commutations serve different purposes. Commutations – of which Obama has issued 1,176 – let people out of prison early. A pardon would also let prisoners go free, but it’s often sought to alleviate life-limiting consequences of convictions.
The White House, which has regularly heralded Obama’s sentence-commuting initiative amid a small number of pardons, said in a blog post it was “the most individual acts of clemency granted in a single day by any president in this nation’s history.”
Obama has faced sustained criticism throughout his presidency for the small number of pardons he issued, and in August he said he would leave office with "roughly" the same number of pardons issued as his predecessors.
It’s unclear why Obama until now has given so few pardons. Theories vary, from sluggish application processing to a fear of political consequences, such as those that faced Clinton.
