Obama Commutes 61 prison sentences
Article: http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/30/politics/barack-obama-commutes-prison-sentences/index.html
Background: The prisons in the United States has the largest prison population in the whole world, and it continues to increase. There are currently over 2.2 million American adults in prison now. A large percentage of these people are in jail for a long time due to a minor drug charge. Barack Obama has been trying to push for reform in the prisons for people with really long offenses for minor crimes.
Summary: On Wednesday, Barack Obama had lunch with several prisoners whose time in jail had been shortened. Three of the people Obama had lunch with, had their sentences commuted by him, and four others who had their sentences shortened by former presidents George W. Buch and Bill Clinton. Obama commuted a total of 61 prison sentences of people who are in jail for minor drug offenses. The reason Obama is commuting these people’s sentences is because he is trying to push reform on what he thinks are “overzealous sentencing laws”. He really wants to give these people a second chance in life. Obama does not think that it is fair that these people who made a mistake a very long time ago should spend the rest of their lives in jail.
Analysis: I personally believe that Obama did the right thing by commuting these people’s sentences. There are way too many people in jail with very long sentences for minor drug charges. These people should not have to spend the rest of their lives in jail for a minor offense that they committed years ago, and deserve a second chance in life. Also, all of these people that are in jail cost a lot of money for the government. The average inmate costs the government different amounts depending on the state. In some states such as Indiana, each inmate costs the government about $14,000, while in some states such as New York, the government spends about $60,000 per inmate. (https://smartasset.com/insights/the-economics-of-the-american-prison-system). I think that having so many people in jail is a waste because it just makes the taxpayers pay even more money on taxes to feed, clothe, bathe, etc. these prisoners. It is especially a waste of money on people who are in prison for very minor offenses.
Questions:
-Do you think that these people deserve a second chance?
-Do you think that there are too many people in jail in the US?
-Should all people with long jail sentences for minor drug offenses get their sentences shortened?
pogo2currentevents 
The prisoners being described in this argument I do believe deserve a second chance. Having a minor or even a major drug crime I do not justifies the reasoning that you no longer deserve to have freedom and thus an opportunity to live life. As stated many prisoners were given extensive sentences for having a minor charge being prosecuted against them, therefore they have only been prevented from assimilating back into public life because of the difficulties we place of them as a society. Moreover, I highly agree that there are beyond more than necessary amounts of people in prisons in the USA. However, I believe that looking at a huge contributor to this is necessary. During the 1980’s and 90’s many minorities were arrested and given ridiculous sentences predominantly due to racism, but also to the socioeconomic inequality hindering these people from being able to progress otherwise. Many minorities in prison now are unlawfully still being detained, had the sentencing been more lenient and fair there could be a vast exodus of the prisoners being held against their strongest of wills. Lastly, this leads to the most logical of conclusions that would state that these people’s sentenced should be shorten. They have already gone through enough, not to mention the difficulties they will face once they get out on parole, therefore they should be given the minimal respect by being allowed to leave prison early based on the court ruling, but desperately after the just punishment requirement.
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Many of the people in prisons today are serving long sentences for small drug offenses. I we want to be a progressive and model country we need to show that we are kind enough to give second chances to those who have truly learned from their mistakes. In the CNN article sited one prisoner Obama met with said,”It changes people’s lives. When they see that people really do care about them, care about their future, care that they want to see them as a success, it changes people’s lives, especially people as powerful as President Obama.” Obama is showing that people deserve to prove that they have changed and can be better back in society. The U.S. has the highest prison population in the world, more specifically 2,217,000 people according to the Institute for Criminal Policy Research. Compared to our total population that is too many people to be imprisoned in the U.S. People who have long sentences for small drug offenses should have their sentences reduced because they did not commit a serious crime that would greatly affect others. The U.S. needs to understand that we need to help our people and that means giving second chances and showing compassion. We are an example country and we need to show to the rest of the world that we are caring, forgiving, and willing to help those in need. Some may consider this as showing vulnerability, but it is showing the country’s ability to choose not to fight and hurt people to “fix” a problem. Talking to those who are in need is the first step to making the U.S., and then the world better.
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I believe that people who are in jail for minor offenses definitely defiantly deserve a second chance. Someone could be in jail for a long period of time, have their lives completely turned upside down all for something as silly as possession of marijuana. I think that there are way too many people in the United States and that it is just a big waste of money. The 60,000 dollars that are spend on an inmate could be spent on something better like making college cheaper… Like how do you spend 60.000 dollars on someone who did a little crime, meanwhile I have to pay 60,000 per year just to get an education. Honestly, the people with minor drug offenses should not be spending more than 2 years in jail, and should definitely be shortened their sentences. I completely agree with the reform that Obama is trying to pass because it is unfair and a waste. Jail should only be for crimes that are a threat to society. Possessing a little weed should not be reason for a person to waste their time, and the government to waste their money.
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A second chance is dependent on the situation of the first chance. With that being said I believe the legislation regarding drug offenses is much too strict; 15 years for possession of weed is unreasonable and these sort of instance inly punish the lower class while the rich can easily pay bail. The US does has their prisons running at 140% capacity which is inhumane and there a change in the system needs to be made. I do not think “all people” should have shorter sentences due to the semantics of their crime, what sort of drugs they were in possession of and what other offenses they have additionally to their jail time.
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I agree with Anna, a second chance is dependent on the situation of the first chance. I do believe that drug sentences are a bit excessive. However, that does not mean that everyone facing a drug offense should be pardoned or have their sentences shortened. It depends on the nature of the situation. Possession of weed shouldn’t be a 15 year sentence. That is a bit excessive and it’s a lot of unneeded spending on the states. However, possession of more serious drugs, should have longer sentences drugs like heroin can do serve harm to a community. Also, if someone is given a shorter sentence for a second chance, a second chance is all they have. I believe that is someone blows their second chance, they should have to go back to their longer sentence. I don’t think there are two many people in jail but rather the way jails prioritize crimes is the problem. Sometimes i feel as though people who have committed the most serious crimes either have short sentences or is let off on parole. I don’t think good behavior in jail should be a deciding factor as to if someone gets out early.
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During the Reagan administration, stricter penalties concerning drugs were established. Mandatory minimum sentencing laws forced judges to sentence those with minor drug violations to lengthy prison sentences. Likewise, the three strike law during the Clinton administration ensured life in prison if an individual committed a crime with prior felony convictions, no matter how minor the crime. In my personal opinion, the prison industrial system in the United States has a massive problem and needs reform in some of the policies that are still upheld and practiced. I strongly believe one of those issues is people serving extensive time for minor drug offences, therefore I do believe depending on the situation these people do deserve a second chance. There are too many people in jail serving lifetime sentences due to minor offences that are taking up space and the money for a criminal who has committed a more serious offence. Thus, I think President Obama is following the correct procedure by reducing the sentences for those with minor offences in order to give them a second chance to rejoin mainstream society. Furthermore, I think depending on the circumstances and the situation surrounding the person’s offence if was minor, should definitely get their sentences shortened. Prisons are for those who are a serious threat to the well-being of society, not for those who have committed minor violations. They should be able to serve a reasonable sentence in which they are able to redeem themselves and reenter society, not be imprisoned for a lifetime due to a minor drug offence.
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I think that prisoners with minor drug offenses deserve a second chance. Minor drugs, like weed, do not compare to drugs like heroine and, therefore, they should not have the same sentence. There are far too many people in jail in the United States. A total of 2.2 millions Americans in prison, costing roughly $14,000- $60,000 per inmate. I do not think the question should be “Are there too many in jail?” but why are they there in the first place, especially for these minor drug crimes. I am not sure if all people with long jail sentences for minor drug get their sentences shortened because that is a lot of people! It would be great to do that but I feel like it should be a case-by-case decision.
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There is absolutely no doubt in me saying that people deserve a second chance. Everyone makes mistakes, and some do not like to pay the consequence(s), however, having rigorous sentencing time for minor (drug) charges is bizarre. There is absolutely no need for a person to spend 3-6 years in a prison for containing a few ounces of drugs. It can and should be dropped down to somewhere near 3-6 months. I understand that a crime is a crime, however drug charges are not the same as a murder charge and the government should not penalize anyone for the same amount of time as a murderer if he/she disobeyed the law and received a drug charge. Let alone the racism that goes on in the court room when jail sentencing occurs. It is often proven that a brown or black person would receive more punishment than white person. THAT is unfair! In America there are way too many people in jails. While those inmates are on the inside, there is a generational gap missing for families, resulting in grandparents having to take care of their grandchildren, but because the children saw what their parents did, they become accustomed to those negative characteristics resulting in teens even getting locked up. The prison system is designed to fail and target black and brown people and giving leeway to whites sadly, but when one decides to speak out on truth and shine the light on the injustice going on inside the closed doors, they soon become the next target. Will this unfairness ever end?
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I think that those people do deserve a second chance at life because they didn’t commit any crimes that were seriously life threatening to other people and the crimes were also considered minor offenses. With all the excessive and miserable time they’ve spent in jail so far, they’ve learned their lesson for their minor offenses. Considering that they committed minor offenses, we can assume that they’re not big time drug dealers and the fact that they got caught and has suffered while incarcerated for so long, they won’t commit the crime again. Taking away one’s freedom and participation from society is not fair just because they sold a few dime bags. I do believe that there are too many people in jail. The United States prison system is over populated and that is because of the thousands and/or millions of people we have incarcerated for so long for silly crimes. The US is about 4.5% of the world’s population, but we hold about 25% of the world’s prisoners. Also, the majority of our prisoner’s are black and majority of them committed minor drug offenses. In total, the U.S. has almost 2.3 million people incarcerated. This is way too many people considering the amount of prison institutions we have and their sizes and the money we need in order to maintain them. Tax payers money is definitely not being used effectively because of the injustice in drug offense laws. I think that all people with minor drug offenses should have their cases looked over again and depending on their behavior in jail, they should have their sentences shortened. According to a prisoner in the CNN article, they said how President Obama understands the injustice they are serving and freedom is all they want. It is obvious that they have come to terms with their situation and if they’re not a national/international drug dealer/smuggler, they deserve a second chance at life.
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I think that certain criminals, MAY deserve a second chance, but theres a lot of criteria to go through to decide whether a criminal should be re-assimilated into society, for example, what the original offense was, what was there behavior like in prison, did they go through proper rehabilitation programs, will they be on life probation, will they be monitored and counseled regularly after being released into society? These are all things that need to be considered before releasing criminals. I do believe that we have too many people in prison, also i believe that our criminal system is rigged to protect the rich, and disenfranchise the poor and minorities. We have way to many people in prison for non-violent minor drug offenses, which in my opinion is just a way for racist cops to put young minority kids behind bars. I do think that all people with long jail sentences for minor drug offenses should get their sentences shortened, especially if you are going to shorten the sentence of one, you should shorten the sentence for all, granted that it is all applied equally and proportionally.
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I do think that these people deserve a second chance since it is only minor drug offenses. It really depends on the circumstances and why they are in jail in the first place. I do see that it is crazy to be in jail for 15 years only for the possession of weed. Things like that I can see definitely deserve a second chance. If it were something more serious I would say no they don’t like drug trafficking etc. I do think that there are lots of people in jail and I don’t at the same time, some in jail for minor crimes is unnecessary and expensive but most are there for a reason. I think that people with only minor circumstances should have reduced sentences and shouldn’t be crazy long for something so small. The price is absolutely insane per inmate in the US. Like previously said I think that people with long sentences for minor drug offenses should get their sentences shortened but it does depend on the situation and what offense it is. Its so particular depending on the situation.
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I believe that these people do deserve a second chance. There are people in this world that commit even greater crimes and can get shorter sentences because of plea deals. People who get a lot of jail time for small drug crimes do not deserve to live most of their lives in jail for a small mistake.
I believe that there is too many people in jail in the US. Yes, there are crimes that deserve punishment in the form of jail time, but there are crimes that deserve punishment, but sometimes get an unreasonable punishment. As the article said, it is taxpayer money that pays for these people to stay alive while in jail. There should be a better way of calculating the length a person should be in jail because no one should have to spend most of their life in jail just for a small marijuana drug bust. Like I said before, there are people that deserve to be in jail, but there are people that learn their lesson quite quickly.
Yes. There are people with greater crimes who serve less time with people with minor drug offenses. It is also unfair to do that to a person. Although they broke the law, the crime they committed does not compare to greater crimes. It is nice to see that Obama is trying to help these people with ridiculous sentences.
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I think that people who commit minor drug offenses do deserve a second chance. These people should not have to sit in prison for years due to such crimes in which they are not posing a large threat to society. Some people who commit murder have shorter sentences than people who commit minor drug offenses. I think it is ridiculous that someone who murdered another person can be released back into society for such little time, whereas a young person who was possessing marijuana has to sit in jail for a longer period of time than the murderer. I definitely think that there are too many people in jail in the United States. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and has around twenty-five percent of the world’s prisoners. Too many people are in jail for minor offenses. I think that people should only be in jail if they are a threat to society, such as murderers. Too much money is being wasted on all of these prisoners who did not even commit serious crimes. People who commit minor drug offenses should get their sentences shortened. A short sentence is a reasonable punishment and allows them to have a second chance at life.
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I believe that some of them do deserve a second chance. Although, once you’re addicted to drugs, it is very hard to become normal again. If these people are in jail for the use of drugs I believe that they do deserve a second chance but also should be put into rehab so that they can feel somewhat normal again and get the help you need. If they are in jail for selling drugs or doing things illegally with drugs besides taking them I believe they should have to serve their whole sentence because clearly the crime they committed is illegal for a reason and you shouldn’t get time off your sentence just because you realized what you did was wrong. Sure these people understand that what they did was not the right thing to do but usually it won’t stop them from continuing to do it. I believe that there are too many people in the US jails right now. I also believe there really is not too much that can be done. Depending on the drug should be what type of sentence in jail you get. The time in jail for marijuana and cocaine possession should not be the same, as one drug is much more harmful and serious than the other.
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I think that people do deserve a second chance as long as they are serious about turning their life around. I don’t agree with long jail sentences from something like drug offenses because there are other, worse crimes that need the money more. Murders, rapists, kidnappers etc are all things that should be punished a lot longer than the punishments given for having a little weed in the back seat. As more and more people continue to use drugs, the more people accumulate in jails. Like stated above, and in the smartasset article, ” Some states, like Indiana have managed to keep prices low at around $14,000 per inmate.” Thats a lot of money and space that is being wasted on minor drug offense when it could be used for other crimes instead. I think that people with long jail sentences for minor drug offenses should get their sentences shortened but it should also depend on the situation. Its a lot more serious if it is the 10th time a person is caught with drugs compared to a person that was caught once. Another example is this, like said in the CNN article, “”If you wanted to sentence me because I was in a relationship with someone who dealt drugs, and I knew about it, that I was present — OK, I am guilty of those things,” Brant said in an interview after the meeting. “A life sentence is not warranted for the minor role that I played in this conspiracy.” Minor drug offenses should not have such long jail sentences. They are a waste of space, money and one mistake shouldn’t determine the next 15 years of someones life.
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I believe that Obama was right in lowering the sentences of these people who committed minor drug crimes. I feel as if minor drug charges shouldn’t put someone in jail for more than 1 year, because that’s very unnecessary. But I do believe that big drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth use or even posession should result in the placement of a person in jail. These drugs lead to crime and result in a lot of damage to someone’s body. There are definitely too many people in jail in the US, we have the greatest amount of people in prisons in the whole world, and many of the people in jail are in jail due to the fact that they were busted on minor drug charges. These minor drug charges shouldn’t lead to the imprisonment of someone. So I feel that someone busted for a minor drug charge should get their sentence decreased, because they haven’t done anything to harm anybody else. Someone who has been charged with a small drug offense and stuffed in jail for 5+ years should have their sentence decreased. They shouldn’t have gotten that many years if they were only in posession of a small amount of marijuana, that’s absurd.
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I’m not sure if I think “these people” deserve a second chance. If we’re talking about people with minor drug charges, yes I do think majority of them deserve a second chance but not all. I’m not sure of the exact definition of a “minor drug charge” but if it’s for small procession of a low threat drug like weed, I believe they should have a chance. Rather if someone is a drug dealer (even for weed) I think they deserve a second chance but not as soon as someone caught for just procession. If we eliminate the drug dealers by keeping them in jail, there won’t be people to put in jail with only procession, thus lower the numbers of people in jail for minor drug crimes. On top of that, I think that people with minor drug crimes should be put in jail but not for an insane amount of time. If we let them just go free with no jail time, they’re just going to keep on doing somethings that’s illegal, which shouldn’t be allowed. Although, I do believe that there are too many people in jail, in fact I did an ECON project on it last year on how much it costs the government. I understand that people make mistakes and there’s more important illegal things happening than someone dealing and processing weed and we shouldn’t be spending so much money on them. But they are still conducting illegal activities and they still should get a LITTLE bit of jail time for doing that, a life time sentence for something small like that is insane. In the CNN article, it’s states, “More than one-third of the 61 individuals who had their sentences commuted Wednesday were serving life sentences, according to White House Counsel Neil Eggleston.” This is costing the government so much money for something someone probably did when they were a teenager because they needed money, which is not worth hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars. Therefore, overall I think that people with minor drug times should have a little amount of jail time to prove to them that just because their activities are minor, they are still illegal and the person committing them are not above the law, but not they defiantly should not be in jail for life for them.
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I think that those in prison who have committed minor drug offenses shouldn’t have such long sentences. They do deserve a second chance but as much as it costs providing for the inmates in prison, it will still cost us tax paying dollars once they are out. Obama wants to fund programs to help those who have gotten out of prison onto a better path rather than being released back into the world without stability. That may cause some of the people who were charged with drug offenses to go back into that type of lifestyle and back into prison like an endless loop. I think that because of that money whether inmates are released or not is still a valid issue. If the United States has the most amount of people in prison than I see that as a problem. It is also should be considered that the U.S has a high population but in comparison to China which has the largest population in the world the U.S incarceration rate is still very high. The United States has a 698 prison population rate while China has a 118 prison population rate. In terms of that data I think that those with minor drug offenses should serve time because they have committed a crime but their sentences should not be very long and I agree with Obama shortening sentences with those terms.
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Talking about people who are in prison is a very hard topic but is not impossible to talk about. I believe that in some cases people do deserve a second chance because they might be in prison for things that may not be such a big deal now. What I mean by this is that if someone was arrested and charged in the 1900’s and was sentenced to life for something that isn’t as big of an offense now there isn’t any reason for why that person should do such a long sentence.
I definitely think that there are too many people in jail in the US and this is proven with data from multiple sources including the ones provided in this current event.
On the other hand, I don’t believe that all people with long jail sentences for minor drug charges get their sentences shortened unless the case has been reevaluated and the crime didn’t hurt any others. Although this argument can be argued Against, the distribution of drugs can harm others so just because some may think it’s a minor drug offense it might be large in the eyes of others. I think that in certain circumstances the sentences could and should be shortened but I don’t agree with everyone’s sentence being shortened. I think that should be left in the hands of the judges who know the legal background of it all.
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