Obama issues mass ‘commutation’ to 95

WASHINGTON, Dec 19, (AFP): President Barack Obama on Friday commuted the sentences of 95 individuals charged mostly with drug offenses, an unusually large show of clemency that foreshadows a 2016 push to fix the criminal justice system.

The White House announced Obama had pardoned two people and commuted sentences -- ranging from cocaine to firearm possession -- of 95 others in an end-of-year act of executive power. His actions bring total commutations to 184, which the White House said is “more than the last five presidents combined.”

“I believe in your ability to prove the doubters wrong, and change your life for the better,” Obama said in a letter to those who received clemency.