Chelsea Manning thanks Barack Obama for 'giving me a chance' Read moreOn Thursday Obama cut short the prison terms of 330 people, the majority of whom were convicted of federal drug crimes. During the president’s second term, he exercised his presidential power to grant clemency liberally, particularly for those convicted of nonviolent drug crimes. In addition to raising Obama’s total tally of sentences shortened, Thursday’s flood of commutations is the most Obama or any US president has issued in a single day. Obama has commuted more people’s sentences than the last 13 presidents combined, according to the White House. In total, Obama commuted the sentences of 1,715 people, include more than 560 who were serving life sentences.

Source: The Guardian January 19, 2017 21:00 UTC