President Barack Obama granted 153 commutations and 78 pardons Monday, the most individual acts of clemency granted in one day by any president in American history.
The president has now commuted the sentences of 1,176 individuals, including 395 life sentences and he has pardoned 148 individuals.
“Today’s acts of clemency, and the mercy the President has shown his 1,324 clemency recipients, exemplify his belief that America is a nation of second chances,” Neil Eggleston, Obama’s White House Counsel, said in a statement Monday afternoon.
Obama visited the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in Oklahoma in Summer 2015, becoming the first sitting president to visit a federal correctional facility. The President commuted 46 prisoners that week, and fought for sentencing reform when it came to low-level drug offenders and non-violent criminals.
The president has the power to commute a sentence or pardon the crime that a citizen is convicted of. A president’s decision to grant clemency is not reviewable and he (she) does not have to give a reason.
Clemency is the overall term for official forgiveness of a violation. A “pardon” wipes out the conviction while a “commutation” leaves the conviction on record, but wipes out the punishment.
“Today’s grants signify the President’s continued commitment to exercising his clemency authority through the remainder of his time in office,” Eggleston stated. “I expect that the president will issue more grants of both commutations and pardons before he leaves office,” the President’s top lawyer predicted in the statement.
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