Obama Commutes Sentences for Eight Drug Offenders

President Barack Obama today commuted the prison sentences of eight drug offenders and issued pardons for 12 other people who had already finished their sentences. The commutations were for people imprisoned for crack cocaine and methamphetamine offenses.

President Obama exercises his clemency powers. (whitehouse.gov)

Among those who got commutations is Sidney Earl Johnson of Mobile, Alabama, who has been serving a life sentence for crack cocaine offenses since 1994. Another is Larry Naylor of Memphis, who has been serving a life sentence for 50 grams of crack since 1997.

Obama pardoned another 12 people who had already served their time for offenses -- sometimes decades in the past. Four of those pardoned were also drug offenders.

Obama had not been particularly prolific with his exercise of the commutation power -- he had only commuted 10 sentences in his first six years in office -- but earlier this year, the administration announced new, more expansive clemency guidelinesb in a bid to decrease the number of people imprisoned under draconian drug war statutes.

At the time, the White House said the new rules could result in "hundreds, perhaps thousands" of people being granted clemency. This is a start.

See the complete list of pardons and commutations here.