Norman Brown served 24 years of a life sentence for distributing cocaine,until his became one of 248 Obama has commuted during his presidencyIn 1993 Norman Brown was told he would die behind bars. He was among 17 people found guilty of distributing crack cocaine after an FBI sting that involved tapping drug dealers’ phones. Due to a preceding minor offence with two criminal counts, he was sentenced to life without parole. Even the judge said the punishment was too harsh but his hands were tied by mandatory minimum sentencing laws.
Then, or final July,Brown walked free after being granted clemency by Barack Obama. And on Wednesday, the US president commuted the sentences of a further 61 drug offenders. In all he has now commuted 248 sentences, or more than the preceding six presidents combined. “It does not make sense for a non-violent drug offender to be getting 20 years,30 years, in some cases life in prison, or ” Obama said at a lunch with Brown and some of the other former inmates. “Thats not serving anybody. That’s not serving taxpayers. It’s not serving public safety. And it’s damaging families.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com