releases: http://jacksonlee.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congresswoman-sheila-jackson-lee-applauds-president-obama-s-use-of
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| http://jacksonlee.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congresswoman-sheila-jackson-lee-applauds-president-obama-s-use-of | CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE APPLAUDS PRESIDENT OBAMAS USE OF CLEMENCY | 2015-12-18 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Democrat | House | TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | J000032 | jacksonlee.house.gov | legacy | Washington, DC Today, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following statement after the White House announced President Obama granted commutations to 95 individuals, including 11 from Texas: I am encouraged by President Obamas commutation of sentences of 95 individuals today who were all victims of unjust sentencing. Many of these men and women would have been released and contributing back to society already had they been convicted under todays laws or reform proposals. I welcome and applaud the commutations of the sentences of these individuals. Incarcerating people for unwarranted lengths of time serves no constructive purpose. The President has recognized this, as has Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and I urge the Administration to take additional action to provide much needed relief to the multitude of deserving individuals locked away for inappropriate, and often inhumane, periods of time. 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. In November, the House Committee on the Judiciary took a step in this direction when we voted to send the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 to the full House for consideration. I am heartened by the bipartisan collaboration between myself, Chairman Goodlatte, and Ranking Member Conyers on this reform measure, and optimistic that this effort will bear meaningful fruit. But make no mistake, there is still much more to be done. In the New Year, we will introduce and hope to move bipartisan legislation reforming our federal prisons, youth justice, policing methods, civil asset forfeiture laws, and criminal procedures. But even after we get these measures to the Presidents desk, much more work will remain. The United States incarcerates nearly 25 percent of the worlds inmates, even though it only has 5 percent of the worlds population. Thirty years ago, there were less than 30,000 inmates in the federal system; today, there are nearly 216,000, an increase of 800 percent! African Americans and Hispanics comprise more than 6 in 10 federal inmates incarcerated for drug offenses. And African American offenders receive sentences that are 10 percent longer than white offenders for the same crimes and are 21 percent more likely to receive mandatory-minimum sentences than white defendants according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. There is no shortage of stories about the damage done to the lives of thousands of individuals and their families, such as Sharanda Jones, by our nations draconian sentencing laws and War on Drugs. Increased use of executive clemency power by the President plays an essential role in reforming our criminal justice system and reducing taxpayer expense on an inefficient system. As we take bipartisan steps to reform the system, it is my sincere hope that the President continues to give the deserving individuals within that system both a second look and a second chance. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |