{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-commends-president-obama-commuting-sentences-98", "Congressman Cohen Commends President Obama for Commuting Sentences of 98 Americans Serving Unjustly Long Sentences", "2016-10-27", "2016", "2016-10", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[MEMPHIS, TN] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), who has been the most constant voice in Congress imploring President Obama to use his absolute power to bring about justice through commutations and pardons, today commended President Obama\u2019s decision to commute the sentences of 98 largely non-violent drug offenders, including one Memphian. Today\u2019s commutations represent the President\u2019s continued commitment to using his pardon and commutation powers to right the wrongs of outdated and discriminatory federal policies, and to provide a second chance to deserving individuals. President Obama has granted clemency to 688 prisoners in 2016 -- the most commutations in any single year of U.S. history -- and 872 prisoners during his presidency.\n\"I commend President Obama for continuing to commute prison sentences for those serving unjustly long sentences for non-violent drug convictions, including that of a Memphian,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cThe record hundreds of commutations issued this year alone are a significant step by President Obama toward a more rational and fair justice system\u2014something I have long encouraged. Not only do our nation\u2019s outdated drug laws disproportionately affect minority populations, but they continue a policy grounded in false premises and political expediency dating back to President Nixon\u2019s \u2018Southern Strategy.\u2019 Additionally, it costs more than $30,000 per year to incarcerate each individual.\u00a0 I encourage President Obama to continue to commute more unjust sentences during his remaining time in office.\u201dCongressman Cohen has repeatedly called on the President to make broader use of his pardon and commutation powers to address injustices, including a\u00a0February 2016 column in the Commercial Appeal calling for increased staffing at the White House Counsel\u2019s Office to review clemency petitions, a\u00a0May 2015 column in the Blue Nation Review\u00a0on the need to bring fairness back to the criminal justice system, a\u00a0November 2014 column that appeared in The Hill,\u00a0repeatedly urging then-Attorney General Holder to address the issue, in\u00a0a\u00a0letter sent to the President in June 2013, in an\u00a0August 2013 speech on Capitol Hill and in\u00a0an\u00a0August 2013 column that appeared in The Nation.\nThe Fair Sentencing Act, which was passed by Congress with Congressman Cohen\u2019s co-sponsorship and signed into law by the President in 2010, marked a turning point in our nation\u2019s approach to drug policy and was a crucial step toward eliminating the dramatic and unfair disparity between crack and powder cocaine mandatory minimum sentences. But, as the President has noted, it \u201ccame too late\u201d for thousands of people who were sentenced before the law was passed and who are still serving sentences imposed under outdated laws. The bipartisan Sentencing Reform Act of 2015, which passed the House Judiciary Committee in November, would, in part, make the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive. Congressman Cohen is a cosponsor of this bill.\nInformation from the White House:\n*Ferlandis Urben Herod - Memphis, TN \nOffense: 1. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; 2. Supervised release violation (conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine); 1. Middle District of Tennessee; 2. Western District of Tennessee\nSentence: 1. Life imprisonment; 2. 24 months' imprisonment (consecutive); 10 years' supervised release (1. July 14, 2005; 2. December 19, 2005)\nCommutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 264 months' imprisonment.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-commends-president-obama-commuting-sentences-98"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2162839993834496, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}