Outgoing United States President, Barack Obama, has commuted the sentences of 1,023 federal prison inmates to shorter sentences.
The figure is more than the past 11 presidents combined had done, the White House said on Tuesday.
The White House, in a statement, said Obama had commuted the sentences of more individuals in one year than in any other single year in U.S history.
The implication is that Obama has commuted more sentences than the combined commutations by U.S Presidents from Harry Truman in 1945 to George W. Bush in 2008, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
“Our nation faces a cycle of poverty, criminality and incarceration that traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities.
“Since taking office, President Obama has fought for a smarter and more equitable criminal justice system.
“He has been committed to using all the tools at his disposal to remedy the unfairness at the heart of the system—including the presidential power to grant clemency.
“The President has now commuted the sentences of 1,023 men and women incarcerated under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws, including 342 individuals who were serving life sentences,” NAN quoted the White House as saying in the statement.
The statement said the majority of the prison inmates were offenders sentenced for non -violent drug crimes.
“To date, the President has granted commutations to more prisoners than the past 11 Presidents combined.
“He has also granted 70 pardons and is committed to continuing to exercise the clemency power with additional grants of commutations and pardons throughout the remainder of his presidency,” the statement added.
