Obama Commutes Sentences of 98 Drug Offenders, Including 42 Lifers
He could still surpass Nixon in percentage of petitions granted.
He could still surpass Nixon in percentage of petitions granted.
Commutations and reforms can only ameliorate the inherent injustice of prohibition.
Not even DNA evidence can get him to change his mind.
The president has granted 774 commutations so far, 97 percent of them in the second half of his second term.
Courtesy of the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Much maligned and noted for her viciousness, she joins a rare trend of voters ousting attorneys.
The president might even surpass Richard Nixon's commutation rate.
The governor of New Mexico uses emotional response to call for new executions.
We can't let one bad judgement tempt us signal feminism by sacrificing justice.
How a peaceful pot grower got 15 years as a "career offender"
Long sentences mandated by Congress do not distinguish between drug offenders and violent criminals.
In raw numbers, the president has far surpassed his recent predecessors, but his petition approval rate is only middling.
Justice Department still expects more before presidency ends.
Voters will have 16 other issues to consider Election Day.
The 1994 crime bill is a classic study in Clintonian triangulation.
Sorry prisoners-you'll have to wait for the finger-pointing to stop.
"That's what causes change: the people in power begin to get hurt by their own system."
Louisiana state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson just blocked a bill that would have provided relief to those sentenced as children to life without parole.
New Hampshire senator wants to increase federal penalties.
The young father of three got 55 years for three small-time pot sales.
Total for administration reaches 348, but hundreds more may still qualify.
Tighter rules on seizure and looser rules on sentences for nonviolent crimes.
Only 4 percent of cases reviewed by volunteer lawyers have made the cut so far.
Bipartisan bill was amended in April. Who would be affected?
Nixon's commutation rate was more than four times as high.
The deadline is rapidly approaching for federal prisoners to request mercy.
Is there any way to stop the abuse of the word 'epidemic'?
The former speaker of the House can no longer be prosecuted for his real crimes.
Some in federal prison may see sentence reductions.
Matt Welch talks about the 'ugliness' of Clintonian crime politics on Rev. Al Sharpton's PoliticsNation
Lee Carroll Brooker, a victim of Alabama's habitual offender law, argues that his punishment violates the Eighth Amendment.
MSNBC's PoliticsNation will feature some blunt talk about New York politics
Clinton minimizes her role in advocating longer sentences and exaggerates her role in trying to shorten them.
She acknowledges harsher penalties implemented in the '90s were a mistake.
It's true, if you don't count Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, or Jim Webb
The former president can't decide whether he should brag about the 1994 law or apologize for it.
The former president says Republicans made him support longer sentences, which were a necessary response to 13-year-old murderers "hopped up on crack."
Election year posturing and new Supreme Court nominee fight push it down the agenda.
Obama has granted about 1 percent of commutation petitions, compared to Nixon's 7 percent.
These flawed laws need to be reformed.
A big backlog of prisoners seeking shorter sentences has gotten a lot bigger.
The law of the last antecedent beats the law of lenity.
The former attorney general supported mandatory minimums for drug offenses as a federal prosecutor in the 1990s.
A "new face of heroin" is changing the discourse on drug addicts in the media. But has it translated into more humane public policy? Not quite.
Clinton, who was for mass incarceration before she was against it, fills in some blanks in her agenda.
Opponents of sentencing reform say a triple murder in Columbus means drug war prisoners must remain behind bars.