President Barack Obama offered 102 federal inmates the chance to leave prison early, wielding his clemency powers Thursday as part of his end-of-term push to spur action on criminal justice reform. The latest round of commutations brings to 774 the number of sentences Obama has shortened, including 590 this year. Thirty-four of the new recipients had been serving life sentences. Obama has been calling for years for phasing out strict sentences for drug offenses, arguing they lead to excessive punishment and incarceration rates unseen in other developed countries. With Obama's support, the Justice Department in recent years directed prosecutors to rein in the use of harsh mandatory minimums.

Source: Fox News October 06, 2016 21:05 UTC