President Issues 214 Additional Commutations, Promises Many
More in Future
President
Obama issued 214 commutations this week, spurring hope that the pace will
increase as he nears the end of his term in January of 2017. This latest batch,
the largest issued in a single day since 1900, according to the White House,
brings the total of commutations to 562.
A
commutation ends the punishment, but does not wipe out the conviction. People granted commutations will not go home
immediately, but will be transitioned to a halfway house before being released
and put on supervised release.
Prisoner-rights
advocates applauded the gesture, but noted that the number of people released
to date is still minimal when compared to those still in federal custody for
excessively long sentences, less than one-third of one percent. As before,
almost all of the commutations were for drug crimes, although some were for
combined drug and weapons charges.
White House
counsel Neil Eggleston wrote, “Our work is far from finished. I expect the
President will continue to grant clemency in a historic and inspiring fashion.”
Eggleston noted that although the White House is committed to even more
commutations, only Congress can bring about lasting changes.
Sentence
relief bills have been stalled in Congress, although many hope that they might
pass either before the November election or shortly thereafter, citing the
widespread bipartisan support for some legislation. “It is critical that both
the House and Senate continue to work…to get a bill to the President’s desk,”
he said.
According
to Mark Osler, professor of law at St. Thomas University, there were still
11,861 commutation petitions pending as of June, and the professor said a
minimum of 1,500 of those qualify for relief under the Administration’s
Clemency Initiative Project criteria, launched with great fanfare. Other noted
that although Obama has granted a large number of commutations, he has been
stingy with pardons, generally considered more useful in assisting former
prisoners who are seeking work or looking to vote or obtain gun rights.
Former
Pardon Attorney Deborah Leff, recruited from private practice to oversee the
Clemency Project at the Justice Department, quit earlier in the year and
expressed dissatisfaction that the pace of action did not match the publicity,
and because her recommendations were often overruled.
The
President has apparently gotten the message, and his staff, in announcing the
most recent commutations, said the pace of sentence relief will continue to
accelerate, promising relief of “historic proportions.”
