President Obama Frees 46 Prisoners Serving Decades Of Long Sentences

In a video announcement termed 'America Is a Nation of Second Chances' President Obama frees dozens of nonviolent Federal Prison inmates.

As part of an effort to counteract draconian penalties handed out to nonviolent drug offenders in the past, President Barack Obama announced on Monday that he has granted dozens of federal inmates their freedom.

In a video announcement, he said the prisoners were not hardened criminals and had been given sentences that didn't fit their crimes. He said it was part of a wider effort to restore the sense of fairness in a nation of second chances.

The 46 prisoners, 14 of whom were serving life sentences, are scheduled to be released on 10 November. Most of them were jailed for crack cocaine offences, which once carried a sentence equivalent to someone caught with 100 times the same amount of powder cocaine.

"These men and women were not hardened criminals. But the overwhelming majority had to be sentenced to at least 20 years. But I believe that at its heart, America's a nation of second chances. And I believe these folks deserve their second chance." Obama said.

"I am granting your application because you have demonstrated the potential to turn your life around. Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity. It will not be easy, and you will confront many who doubt people with criminal records can change. Perhaps even you are unsure of how you will adjust to your new circumstances.” President Obama wrote in a letter to the inmates

The president has now issued nearly 90 commutations, the vast majority of them to nonviolent offenders sentenced for drug crimes under outdated sentencing rules.