WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (UPI) — President Barack Obama has commuted the prison sentences of 79 more people — bringing his grand total to more than a thousand, the White House said Tuesday.
Obama has been commuting sentences for months, believing many U.S. inmates are serving inappropriately long terms for nonviolent crimes, typically drug offenses.
Obama last commuted 72 sentences on Nov. 4.
“The President has now commuted the sentences of 1,023 men and women incarcerated under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws, including 342 individuals who were serving life sentences,” the White House said Tuesday.
“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,” it added.
Obama has granted more commutations for 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 White House noted.
Obama’s administration emphasized that the commutations have been part of its aim to reform the American criminal justice system.
