President Obama announced Wednesday that he will commute the prison sentences of 61 inmates currently serving time for drug-related crimes. A third of the inmates were serving life sentences, White House counsel Neil Eggleston said. Most of the inmates were nonviolent offenders—many of whom possessed cocaine, some with firearms violations—and will be released by the end of July. With the new move, Obama will have commuted the sentences of 248 inmates during his presidency, more than the past six presidents combined.
