Obama shortens prison sentences for 98
convicts: White House
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[October 28, 2016]
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama shortened the prison sentences
for 98 convicts serving time for drug-related offenses in his latest
round of commutations, including for 42 people serving life sentences,
the White House said on Thursday. |
![](../images/102816pics/news_k19.jpg)
President Barack Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act during a
visit to Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida, U.S. October 20, 2016.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque |
Obama has granted
688 commutations this year, for a total so far of 872 during his
presidency, which ends on Jan. 20.
"These are individuals - many of whom made mistakes at a young
age - who have diligently worked to rehabilitate themselves
while incarcerated," White House Counsel Neil Eggleston said in
a statement.
The commutations are part of Obama's push to reform the criminal
justice system to reduce the number of people serving long
sentences for non-violent drug offenses.
Obama and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. Congress
had tried to work on legislation to reduce mandatory minimum
sentences, but those efforts stalled ahead of the Nov. 8
presidential election.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by James Dalgleish)
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