{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://conyers.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/conyers-jackson-lee-commend-president-obama-additional-commutations-0", "Conyers, Jackson Lee Commend President Obama for Additional Commutations of Sentences; Call For Congressional Action on Sentencing Reform", "2016-12-04", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "MI", "John Conyers", "C000714", "conyers.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) today released the following statements after the White House announced the commutation of the sentences of 72 individuals:\n\u201cI welcome the continued work by the President and his administration in commuting sentences, but the need to do so indicates the depth of the problem with our Federal sentencing laws,\u201d said Ranking Member Conyers. \u201cCongress must address this issue, to make sentences more fair at the front end. \u00a0\u00a0We know that we can do this in a way that still imposes appropriate sentences but does not rely on mandatory minimums, which ignore the facts and circumstances of each case.\u00a0 With the growing bipartisan recognition of the need to act, I am hopeful that we will do so in the near future.\u201d\n\u201cI commend President Obama\u2019s commutation of sentences of 72 individuals \u2013 who were all victims of unjust sentencing,\u201d said Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Jackson Lee.\u00a0 \u201cNearly all of these men and women would have been released and contributing back to society already had they been convicted under today\u2019s laws or reform proposals. I welcome and applaud the commutations of the sentences of these individuals.\u00a0 Incarcerating people for unwarranted lengths of time serves no constructive purpose.\u00a0 The President has recognized this, as has Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and I am pleased that the Administration\u2019s Clemency Project continues to address the multitude of cases in which sentence reductions are appropriate.\u00a0 Of course, the need to engage in such a broad review of sentences exists largely because our sentencing laws and policies, particularly for drug offenses, urgently need to be changed.\u00a0 We need to eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing and let judges impose appropriate sentences based on the facts and circumstances of each case, and we should eliminate the higher penalties for crack cocaine relative to powder cocaine offenses.\u00a0 I am heartened that there is a growing, bipartisan recognition of the problem of over incarceration and I hope this will lead to sentencing reform this Congress.\u201d\nCongressman Conyers and Congresswoman Jackson Lee are cosponsors of the\u00a0Sentencing Reform Act of 2015, which is the first bill that is a result of the House Judiciary Committee\u2019s criminal justice reform initiative. \u00a0The\u00a0Sentencing Reform Act of 2015\u00a0reduces certain mandatory minimums for drug offenses, reduces the three-strike mandatory life sentence to 25 years, broadens the existing safety valve for low-level drug offenders, and provides judges with greater discretion in determining appropriate sentences.", 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://conyers.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/conyers-jackson-lee-commend-president-obama-additional-commutations-0"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6996619049459696, "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"}