Obama has granted 688 commutations this year, for a total so far of 872 during his presidency, which ends on Jan. 20.
“These are individuals – many of whom made mistakes at a young age – who have diligently worked to rehabilitate themselves while incarcerated,” White House Counsel Neil Eggleston said in a statement.
The commutations are part of Obama’s push to reform the criminal justice system to reduce the number of people serving long sentences for non-violent drug offenses.
Obama and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. Congress had tried to work on legislation to reduce mandatory minimum sentences, but those efforts stalled ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election.
Editing by James Dalgleish
Article Appeared @http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-justice-obama-idUSKCN12R2OA