Pubdate: Fri, 06 May 2016
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2016 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Katherine Skiba

OBAMA CUTS TERMS FOR ILLINOIS DRUG OFFENDERS

3 Men Among 58 Nationwide to Get Commutations

WASHINGTON - Three Illinois men who received long federal prison 
terms for drug crimes will be freed in late summer after their 
sentences were commuted by President Barack Obama.

The three cases were among 58 commutations the president granted Thursday.

One of the Illinois men is Artrez Nyroby Seymour of Chicago Heights, 
who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2005 for his role in a 
narcotics conspiracy.

Seymour's term was cut to 20 years in March, and the commutation 
means he will be freed after serving almost 11 years. Seymour, 36, is 
in prison in Terre Haute, Ind., and had been set for release in 
November 2019, records show.

Derrick Terry, of Chicago, was given a sentence of 21 years and 10 
months in 2003 for possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine. 
Terry, 43, who is incarcerated in Sandstone, Minn., will have served 
more than 13 1/2 years when he is freed, records show. He was to have 
been held until 2020, records show.

Both were convicted in the Chicago-based Northern District of Illinois.

Also receiving a commuted sentence was Twaine Jones, of Washington 
Park, which is in southern Illinois near St. Louis. Jones was ordered 
to serve 30 years in prison in 2000 for possession with intent to 
distribute cocaine and marijuana.

Jones, 43, who is in prison in Memphis, Tenn., was to have been 
released early in 2024, records show. When he gets out he'll have 
served more than 16 years behind bars.

The sentences of all three men will end Sept. 2, officials said.

Obama has commuted 306 sentences since he took office. The figure is 
more than the previous six presidents combined, he wrote Thursday in 
an online post that said he will continue to review clemency applications.

Eighteen of the Thursday's commutations involved life sentences, said 
Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. As a result of Obama's actions, 
the offenders "have been granted a second chance to lead productive 
and law-abiding lives," she said.

In 2014, the Justice Department said it would prioritize requests for 
sentence reductions from federal prisoners who met several criteria, 
including having served at least 10 years, lacking significant ties 
to a large-scale criminal organization and having a record of good 
conduct in custody.
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