WASHINGTON — President Obama, condemning mandatory minimum sentences and disproportionately harsh sentences for crack cocaine as unjust, has commuted the prison terms of eight convicted offenders.
The move is part of the Obama administration's effort, mainly during the last three years, to address inequities in the criminal justice system, particularly those that put black men behind bars far more often than others.
In August, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. announced that he would direct federal prosecutors not to automatically seek mandatory minimum sentences for low-level, nonviolent drug offenders.
Until 2010, when Congress approved a new sentencing law, those convicted of possessing crack cocaine were subject to mandatory sentences far higher than those given to people possessing the powder form of the drug. Crack use was more common among blacks and powder among whites.
But passage of the 2010 law, the Fair Sentencing Act, still left thousands of convicted crack users and dealers serving sentences that would have been considerably shorter if their cases had involved powder cocaine. Obama has asked Congress to make that law retroactive.
"Commuting the sentences of these eight Americans is an important step toward restoring fundamental ideals of justice and fairness," Obama said. "But it must not be the last. In the new year, lawmakers should act on the kinds of bipartisan sentencing reform measures already working their way through Congress."
Thursday's commutations involved prisoners who already had served at least 15 years in prison. Six had been sentenced to life and several had become the focus of considerable publicity about their plight.
Prisoner advocates welcomed the announcement but said that roughly 7,000 imprisoned crack users or dealers would be free if they had been sentenced after the 2010 law.
Obama has been more reluctant than recent predecessors to use his constitutional right to grant clemency. He previously had commuted only one sentence in his five years in office and has mostly confined himself to pardoning people who have already served their sentences. According to Justice Department statistics, Obama had received 8,576 petitions for clemency by Dec. 1.
"Considering in his first five years in office he granted only one commutation, I suppose we should be thrilled that he granted eight," said Julie Stewart, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. "But considering the number of people in prison who are serving excessive sentences, this is a drop in the bucket."
Among the people receiving commutations Thursday, the most publicized case was that of Clarence Aaron of Mobile, Ala., who was convicted of multiple cocaine charges in 1993 when he was 24 years old. Aaron received three life sentences based on mandatory sentencing guidelines at the time. His conviction was his first criminal offense, and he did not buy, sell or supply the drugs. Instead, he was convicted of conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute it, among other charges.
Aaron's case was featured on the "PBS and the Fox television network. An investigation by the Washington Post and ProPublica last year revealed that when his request for a commutation was submitted to President George W. Bush, key details were left out of the file. A report by the Justice Department's inspector general affirmed the news organizations' findings.
Margaret Love, a pardon attorney under President Clinton and a lawyer for Aaron, said she was encouraged by the Obama's action, but she said a congressional vote to make the 2010 law apply to previously sentenced offenders "ain't going to happen."
She called on Obama to look at the problem of the thousands of crack offenders in prison "on a broader basis," perhaps considering an approach like that of former President Ford, who set up a clemency board to review the cases of alleged Vietnam-era draft evaders.
A White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly said that at the beginning of the year Obama asked the Justice Department to look for "meritorious" commutation applications and that he approved all that were sent to him with recommendations.
Obama also granted pardons to 13 people who had already served their sentences.
[email protected]
Becca Clemons of the Washington bureau contributed to this report.
The move is part of the Obama administration's effort, mainly during the last three years, to address inequities in the criminal justice system, particularly those that put black men behind bars far more often than others.
In August, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. announced that he would direct federal prosecutors not to automatically seek mandatory minimum sentences for low-level, nonviolent drug offenders.
Until 2010, when Congress approved a new sentencing law, those convicted of possessing crack cocaine were subject to mandatory sentences far higher than those given to people possessing the powder form of the drug. Crack use was more common among blacks and powder among whites.
But passage of the 2010 law, the Fair Sentencing Act, still left thousands of convicted crack users and dealers serving sentences that would have been considerably shorter if their cases had involved powder cocaine. Obama has asked Congress to make that law retroactive.
"Commuting the sentences of these eight Americans is an important step toward restoring fundamental ideals of justice and fairness," Obama said. "But it must not be the last. In the new year, lawmakers should act on the kinds of bipartisan sentencing reform measures already working their way through Congress."
Thursday's commutations involved prisoners who already had served at least 15 years in prison. Six had been sentenced to life and several had become the focus of considerable publicity about their plight.
Prisoner advocates welcomed the announcement but said that roughly 7,000 imprisoned crack users or dealers would be free if they had been sentenced after the 2010 law.
Obama has been more reluctant than recent predecessors to use his constitutional right to grant clemency. He previously had commuted only one sentence in his five years in office and has mostly confined himself to pardoning people who have already served their sentences. According to Justice Department statistics, Obama had received 8,576 petitions for clemency by Dec. 1.
"Considering in his first five years in office he granted only one commutation, I suppose we should be thrilled that he granted eight," said Julie Stewart, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. "But considering the number of people in prison who are serving excessive sentences, this is a drop in the bucket."
Among the people receiving commutations Thursday, the most publicized case was that of Clarence Aaron of Mobile, Ala., who was convicted of multiple cocaine charges in 1993 when he was 24 years old. Aaron received three life sentences based on mandatory sentencing guidelines at the time. His conviction was his first criminal offense, and he did not buy, sell or supply the drugs. Instead, he was convicted of conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute it, among other charges.
Aaron's case was featured on the "PBS and the Fox television network. An investigation by the Washington Post and ProPublica last year revealed that when his request for a commutation was submitted to President George W. Bush, key details were left out of the file. A report by the Justice Department's inspector general affirmed the news organizations' findings.
Margaret Love, a pardon attorney under President Clinton and a lawyer for Aaron, said she was encouraged by the Obama's action, but she said a congressional vote to make the 2010 law apply to previously sentenced offenders "ain't going to happen."
She called on Obama to look at the problem of the thousands of crack offenders in prison "on a broader basis," perhaps considering an approach like that of former President Ford, who set up a clemency board to review the cases of alleged Vietnam-era draft evaders.
A White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly said that at the beginning of the year Obama asked the Justice Department to look for "meritorious" commutation applications and that he approved all that were sent to him with recommendations.
Obama also granted pardons to 13 people who had already served their sentences.
[email protected]
Becca Clemons of the Washington bureau contributed to this report.