As part of an effort to counteract draconian
penalties handed out to nonviolent drug offenders
in the past, President Barack Obama announced
on Monday that he has granted dozens of federal
inmates their freedom.
In a video announcement, he said the prisoners
were not hardened criminals and had been given
sentences that didn't fit their crimes. He said it
was part of a wider effort to restore the sense of
fairness in a nation of second chances.
The 46 prisoners, 14 of whom were serving life
sentences, are scheduled to be released on 10
November. Most of them were jailed for crack
cocaine offences, which once carried a sentence
equivalent to someone caught with 100 times the
same amount of powder cocaine.
"These men and women were not hardened
criminals. But the overwhelming majority had
to be sentenced to at least 20 years. But I
believe that at its heart, America's a nation
of second chances. And I believe these folks
deserve their second chance." Obama said.
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