Pubdate: Fri, 16 Sep 2016
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 2016 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/625HdBMl
Website: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Gregory Korte
Note: Headline from Print Edition

CELLS STAY LOCKED AFTER OBAMA CLEMENCY

WASHINGTON - For 126 federal inmates who received presidential
clemency last month, the good news might have come with a dose of
disappointment.

President Obama had granted their requests for commutations, using his
constitutional pardon power to shorten their sentences for drug
offenses. But instead of releasing them, he left them with years - and
in some cases, more than a decade - left to serve on their sentences.

As Obama has begun to grant commutations to inmates convicted of more
serious crimes, Obama has increasingly commuted their sentences
without immediately releasing them. These are what are known as "term"
commutations, as opposed to the more common "time served"
commutations, and they represent a remarkable departure from recent
past practice. Unlike a full pardon, commutations shorten sentences
but leave other consequences of the conviction in place.
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