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| Photo courtesy of Politico |
On Thursday, President Obama will become the first sitting president to visit a federal prison.
Mr. Obama will travel to Oklahoma's El Reno Correctional Institution, home to Jason Hernandez – a prisoner convicted on drug charges who had his life sentence commuted by Obama in 2013, reports Vice News.
The trip, which will be recorded for a Vice documentary airing on HBO this fall, comes amidst the Obama administration’s broader efforts towards creating what it sees as a fairer US criminal justice system, mostly in response to tougher drug laws that disproportionately imprisoned minorities.
The New York Times reports that in the coming weeks, Obama is expected to issue orders freeing dozens of federal prisoners locked up on nonviolent drug offenses, possibly taking the total number of commutations under his presidency to more than 80.
This will mean he will probably commute more sentences at one time than any president has in nearly half a century.
Good for President Obama.
We may in fact have just about the least fair justice system on the planet, and minorities often get longer sentences than whites, and are locked up for increasingly minor offenses.
If President Obama could actually have a significant impact on our correctional system that alone would lock down his legacy. Not that the man who ended two wars, saved the economy, and brought health care to millions necessarily needs another feather in his cap.
Thank you, President Obama for refusing to live down to the "lame duck" moniker and for making the most of the degree of freedom you now have rightfully earned in your years of trying to work with a Congress and a Supreme Court in which too many members are driven by either religious dogma or financial benefit or both.
ReplyDeleteAnd with a peppering of the bigoted 'black man in the White House' birther meme embraced by racidiots.
Deletedowl
I grow concerned how this will be spun to make President Obama look bad.
ReplyDeleteIn the instance that one of those non-violent drug offenders
(who most likely has become hardened in the penal system, whereas they were NOT prior to being incarcerated and relatively harmless)
decides to break the law, especially in a violent way, such as killing someone, the backlash on PBO would be horrific from the Fox and Right Wing outrage machine.
And still, I totally support him for doing this, because it is the right thing to do, they never should have been locked up in the first place in way too many instances.
This was one of my concerns too. I feel he has thought it through and those who have their sentences commuted have support systems when they are released. Fingers crossed for it's success and not thinking negative.
DeleteMass incarceration of minorities and the poor is despicable.
ReplyDeleteThere are people doing more time in jail for drug offenses than some people do for manslaughter.
Actually, there are thousands of people in this situation--80 is only a drop in the bucket.
ReplyDeleteWell, you've gotta start somewhere, now don'tcha?
DeleteMaybe those 80 will get the ball rolling in a whole new direction for other non-violent offenders. I don't know the laws, but is there a limit of how many people a president is able to pardon? I suspect he's going for the max that he can for these people.
Our president is clearly breaking all the 'lame duck' rules.
ReplyDeleteThis is a HUGE win for women.
Obama Passes Rule To Guarantee Birth Control Coverage For All Working Women
...Under the new regulations, employers who object to contraception must notify their insurance company or the federal government, so that those entities can assume the responsibility for providing coverage to female employees who require it. The new rule ensures that women will have access to birth control at no cost, regardless of who their employer is.
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/07/12/obama-administration-passes-rule-guarantee-birth-control-coverage-working-women.html
Hobby Lobby be damned. Our president found a way to help women even when the right wingers did all they could to stop this from happening. Bravo!
Damn, he's good. I have to give this man high props. Because of him, the Lilly Ledbetter Act, The ACA, Marriage Equality and now this guarantee of coverage regardless of employer. And many other things he's accomplished, against all odds.
DeleteHe's one for the history books. A great role model for fathers, a great role model for husbands, and a great role model for the rich wisdom kids learn when having access to their grandparent/grandparents in their lives.
I hope he finds a way to get gun laws more strickter before he leaves office.
His children are fortunate to have such great parents. I think President Obama values a strong family unit because of his own experiences growing up.
I suspect our President knew all along he was going to do these great things to set us free. He's been biding his time.
DeleteTiming is EVERYTHING.
Need to get rid of provate, for-profit prisons, just like for-profit education - both are travesties.
ReplyDeleteSo true.
DeleteI agree.
DeleteHere's Policususa's "Take"
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/ndg49u2
One of my coworkers' sons wtas sentenced to 18 months, 200 hours of community service, and had to see a probation officer for two years, plus random blood and urine testing. He had a little less than two ounces, three joints of marijuana. Well, they wrapped up the car, vacced the hell out of the carpets, seats and trunk, and found resin, seeds and stems which brought the total to an eighth of an ounce above the limit for "personal use".
Having a child labeled a "Felon" and "Drug user/dealer" is devastating. But, honestly, was there crap in the vac BEFORE they used it? and how can they prove there wasn't? This didn't happen during a "stop" nor in a drug free school zone. He was walking home from a friend's house with his girlfriend six houses away, and the cop shined a spotlight on them and drove r e a l s l o w. When they reached his house, he went to the car to get cigarettes, then all hell broke loose.
The judge, a few days later, gave him a lecture, and the parents thought he was going to release him to their care, and maybe charge a fine.
Instead, the mandatory sentencing guidelines were used as an excuse and the judge made it clear he'd do the full time, no early release for good behavior, etc.
This kid has to inform any potential employer that he is a convicted felon and explain why, for the rest of his life. If he got caught three days earlier, his record would be sealed and eventually expunged. Because he was 18, he got the book thrown at him. We seriously need some kind of reform
So glad the President is doing this, gives me hope this injustice over pot stops.
Obviously the boy did not have rich or powerful parents or the most that would have happened would have been the proverbial "slap on the wrist." Ah, Justice. Would that she were really blind!
DeleteBeaglemom
Yes. This so hard on the parents of a beloved son or daughter with expensive legal problems with foreclosed futures. Most of these excessive incarcerations are in support of private prison industries. It's disgusting that so many are incarcerated in the land of the free.
ReplyDeleteAttention G:
ReplyDeleteHeadline says it all!
Councilman Jonathan Schumm, who faces felony charge, announces upcoming crime summit
Schumm, who has held onto seat despite ouster attempt, says he looks forward to summit
http://cjonline.com/news/2016-03-16/councilman-jonathan-schumm-who-faces-felony-charge-announces-upcoming-crime-summit
"Taylor alleged Jonathan Schumm between Oct. 7 and 11 took the alleged aggravated battery victim into his bedroom, forced the boy onto a bed face down, then retrieved a leather and metal belt to repeatedly strike the child, “causing lacerations to (the boy’s) eye and hand,” a court record said.
After that, prosecutors alleged, Jonathan Schumm rolled the child from his stomach onto his back and began choking him with both hands.
“While he was being strangled, (the boy) heard the defendant say that the next time he strangled (him) he would kill (him,)” court records said."
Almost forgot the rest of the story!
He's a family values republican who used to be a police evidence technician with 17 kids (until both he and his wife were arrested that is) all under the age of 20.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-schumm-376869b0