Obama grants clemency to 231 offenders in largest single day act as president
U.S. president Barack Obama granted clemency to 231 individuals on Monday; it is considered as the largest single act of his presidency. In total, Obama has granted clemency to 1,324 people since he became president.
Obama granted 153 commutations, the majority of which involved drug-related offenses. This brings the total number of commutations while he's been in office to 1,176, including 395 sentences. Additionally, the president also gave pardon to 78 offenders, bringing the total number of pardons granted to 148.
According to White House Counsel Neil Eggleston, Obama is expected to issue more clemency to more people before his term ends, reports CNN. In a statement, he said, "The 231 individuals granted clemency today have all demonstrated that they are ready to make use — or have already made use — of a second chance."
Previously, Obama announced his plans of bringing existing sentences of inmates more in line with current laws, as some of them have been serving more than the sentence they would receive today. Sentence reform advocates hope for such since they find it unlikely that President-elect Donald Trump would have a similar initiative.
Those who are hoping for a blanket pardon may be in for a disappointment, though. Attorney General Loretta Lynch was asked last week if there was any possibility "DREAMers," which refer to young undocumented immigrants, could be pardoned as a group before the end of Obama's term.
Speaking at a Politico Playbook breakfast, Lynch explained, "The issue of pardoning someone is an individual decision that's made on a case-by-case basis, and so there's no legal framework or regulatory framework that allows for a pardon of a group en masse."
U.S. presidents have been using the power to grant pardons since the Constitution granted it to them way back in 1789. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt who granted the most number of pardons at 3,687, although he was also the longest serving president, having led the country for 12 years.
