Obama commutes 61 drug offenders sentences surpassing all previous presidents clemency totals

President Obama grants clemency to 61 federal drug offenders, bringing his total commutations to 248, more than the previous six presidents combined. Most recipients were sentenced under sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine that Congress reduced in the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. By the end of his presidency, Obama will grant 1,715 commutations and 212 pardons, the most by any president in modern history. The effort targets people serving long mandatory minimum sentences for low-level nonviolent drug offenses, often first-time offenders given life sentences.