President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 214 federal inmates—most of whom are incarcerated for drug offenses—on Aug. 3 in a continued effort to change the way nonviolent drug offenders are penalized in the judicial system.
“All of the individuals receiving commutation today, incarcerated under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws, embody the President’s belief that ‘America is a nation of second chances,’” White House Counsel Neil Eggleston wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.
The new addition of 214 commutations—including 67 people who were given life sentences—now brings Obama’s total of commutations to 562. This number surpasses the numbers of commutations by nine previous presidents combined.
“Our work is far from finished. I expect the President will continue to grant clemency in a historic and inspiring fashion,” wrote Eggleston.
Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas’s grandmother Minnie Pearl Thomas, 60, was one of the hundreds who have had their sentences commuted.
