Pubdate: Tue, 14 Jul 2015 Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Copyright: 2015 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.utsandiego.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386 Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area. PRESIDENT COMMUTES 46 SENTENCES WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Monday commuted the sentences of 46 drug offenders in federal prisons, more than double the number of commutations he granted earlier this year as part of his administration's effort to reform the criminal justice system. In a Facebook video posted Monday afternoon, the president said the people who received the commutations had served sentences disproportionate to their crimes. "These men and women were not hardened criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years," he said. "I believe that at its heart, America is a nation of second chances. And I believe these folks deserve their second chance." He noted that in his letters to them, he made sure they knew they needed to make different choices now that their sentences had been commuted. Monday's 46 commutations mark the most in a single day since at least the administration of President Lyndon Johnson. Obama has now commuted the sentences of 89 people, surpassing the combined number of commutations granted by presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The Washington Post - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom