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By the end of his presidency on January 20, 2017, President Barack Obama had exercised his constitutional power to grant executive clemency—that is, "pardon, commutation of sentence, remission of fine or restitution, and reprieve"—to 1,927 individuals convicted of federal crimes. Of the acts of clemency, 1,715 were commutations (including 504 life sentences) and 212 were pardons. Most individuals granted executive clemency by Obama had been convicted on drug charges, and had received lengthy and sometimes mandatory sentences at the height of the War on Drugs.
Contents
- Constitutional provision
- Definitions
- Pardons and commutations
- November 21 2011
- June 3 2016
- December 20 2016
- January 17 2017
- January 19 2017
- References
Obama holds the record for the largest single-day use of the clemency power, granting 330 commutations on January 19, 2017, his last full day in office. He also has issued more commutations than the past thirteen presidents combined.
Constitutional provision
The pardon powers of the President are outlined in Article Two of the United States Constitution (Section 2, Clause 1), which provides:
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Definitions
Pardons and commutations
This is a partial list of people pardoned or granted clemency by a United States president, ordered by date of pardon or commutation. For an updated list, see U.S. Department of Justice.
November 21, 2011
December 19, 2013
On July 13, 2015, Obama announced he would be commuting the sentences of 46 drug offenders.
June 3, 2016
On June 6, 2016, Obama announced he would be commuting the sentences of 42 offenders.
December 20, 2016
Obama granted 78 commutations on this day.
January 17, 2017
On January 17, 2017, Obama commuted the sentence of 209 individuals (109 of whom faced life sentences). These included Chelsea Manning and Oscar López Rivera, enabling them to be released from prison on May 17, 2017. Manning's sentence initially ran through 2045. Obama also pardoned James Cartwright, who was awaiting sentencing for giving false statements to federal investigators.
January 19, 2017
Obama commuted the prison sentences of 330 federal inmates, particularly drug offenders, on Thursday, January 19, 2017, his last full day in office. Obama did so, as one of his final acts in office, in order to reduce what he viewed as overly harsh punishments.