Pubdate: Sat, 04 Jun 2016 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2016 The Washington Post Company Contact: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491 Authors: Greg Jaffe and Sari Horwitz OBAMA GRANTS CLEMENCY TO 42 FEDERAL INMATES President Obama granted clemency to 42 inmates Friday as part of an ongoing effort to release federal prisoners who are serving prison terms resulting from sentencing laws that the White House said were "outdated and unduly harsh." To date, Obama has commuted the sentences of 348 federal inmates. The White House said in a statement that the president will continue commuting the sentences of inmates through his seven remaining months in office. Half of the inmates on Friday's list had been sentenced to life for nonviolent drug offenses, according to the White House. Obama has granted more commutations than the previous seven presidents combined, according to White House officials. "Despite these important efforts, only legislation can bring about lasting change to the federal system," wrote Neil Eggleston, the White House counsel. "There remain thousands of men and women in federal prison serving sentences longer than necessary, often due to overly harsh mandatory minimum sentences." One federal inmate who was released - but not under Obama's clemency initiative - is Weldon Angelos, 36, a father of three from Utah who was sentenced in 2004 to a 55-year mandatory minimum prison term in connection with selling marijuana. The specific circumstances of Angelos's release are unclear because court records in his case are sealed. But after a long campaign from his supporters, including Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Angelos was quietly released Tuesday after a federal court granted him an immediate reduction in sentence. He was able to immediately go home to his family without serving three months in a halfway house, as those who receive clemency are required to do. The release allowed Angelos to see the son he left at age 7 graduate from high school Thursday. Angelos is one of the nation's most famous nonviolent drug offenders and became a symbol of what advocates said was the severity and unfairness of mandatory sentences. His case was championed by the group Families Against Mandatory Minimums, former FBI director Bill Sessions, conservative billionaire Charles Koch and others. Three years ago, more than 100 former judges and prosecutors, former elected and appointed government officials, and prominent authors, scholars, activists and business leaders signed a letter urging Obama to grant Angelos commutation. In February, former federal judge Paul G. Cassell, who sentenced Angelos, wrote a letter asking Obama to swiftly grant him clemency. Cassell said that the sentence he was forced to impose was "one of the most troubling that I ever faced in my five years on the federal bench" and that it was one of the chief reasons he stepped down as a judge. But Obama never granted clemency to Angelos. The granting of mercy instead came from the Salt Lake City prosecutor who charged him in the case, according to his lawyer. "After 3-1/2 years of inaction on Weldon's clemency petition, he is free because of the fair and good action of a prosecutor," attorney Mark W. Osler said. "He returns to citizenship because of the actions of one individual - just not the individual I was expecting. Weldon's freedom is a wonderful thing but remains just one bright spot among many continuing tragedies." A White House spokeswoman said that the administration cannot respond with details about any individual clemency case. Julie Stewart, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, called the release of Angelos "fantastic news and past due." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom