Commutations

Chelsea Manning Reportedly On Pres. Obama’s “Short List” For Commutation

January 12, 2017 Staff, www.freechelsea.com Create! Chelsea Manning, Commutations

By Staff of Free Chelsea - Chelsea Manning’s attorney at the ACLU, Chase Strangio, said: “The Obama administration has done many commendable things to protect the rights of LGBTQ people, but in the case of Chelsea Manning they have systematically mistreated her and denied her access to medically recommended gender-related health care. Chelsea won’t survive another 5 years in prison, much less another 30. President Obama has 9 days to do the right thing and commute her sentence. The world is watching, and we hope that he stands on the side of justice, and that his legacy will be one of standing up for trans people’s rights, not having extinguished one of our community’s brightest lights.”

Chelsea Manning Makes Appeal For Release Before Trump Takes Office

November 16, 2016 Ed Pilkington, www.theguardian.com Create! Chelsea Manning, Commutations, political prisoners, Whistleblowers

By Ed Pilkington for The Guardian - Former US soldier serving 35 years in prison for leaking state secrets asks Barack Obama to commute her sentence to time served. Chelsea Manning has made a last-ditch appeal to Barack Obama to commute her sentence for leaking state secrets to time served, calling on him to release her from military prison so that she can have her “first chance to live a real, meaningful life”.

President Obama Grants 111 Additional Commutations

September 1, 2016 Breanna Edwards, www.theroot.com Create! Barack Obama, Commutations

By Breanna Edwards for The Root - On Tuesday, President Barack Obama granted commutations for an additional 111 federal inmates, bringing the total number of grants offered up to 325 in the month of August alone—the largest number of commutations ever granted by a president in a single month, the White House reports. Earlier this month, the president had granted more commutations in a single day than any other president, reducing the sentences of 214 federal inmates.

Even Nixon Let Out More Prisoners Than Obama

August 28, 2016 Meagan Day, www.timeline.com Create! Commutations, Criminal Justice, Obama, Pardons, Prisons

By Meagan Day for Timeline. Throughout his tenure, President Obama’s hesitation to use his executive pardon power has left critics scratching their heads. He granted zero clemencies during the first two years of his first term — except for Thanksgiving turkeys, of course — and the numbers have been in the low double digits every year since. But recently Obama picked up the pace, commuting the sentences of 214 federal inmates. All of them were non-violent drug offenders, sending a clear message to the legislative branch. But Obama has released for fewer prisoners than many presidents, including Richard Nixon. Even if Obama grants a slew of commutations here at the end of his presidency, it will hardly make a dent in the number of inmates that have been stuffed into federal prison since the beginning of the tough-on-crime era.

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