In truth, the President is late to the game. Many activists and politicians have called for fundamental criminal justice reforms for more than a decade.
Jim Webb, a Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. senator from Virginia, asked years ago for an overhaul of the nation's prison and criminal justice system. Practically no one in Washington listened, including the President.
But better late than never. This month, the President commuted the federal sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders, most of whom were convicted under Draconian, discriminatory, and outdated sentencing laws. Thousands more across the country could also safely return to their communities.
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Jim Webb, Webb Campaign Press Release - Editorial: Prison Politics Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/313191