Many of our drug laws are way too harsh, so it's a good thing that Obama is injecting a modicum of sanity into things.
In contrast, on Bill Clinton's last day in office, he shamelessly engaged in "cash for pardons". E.g.:
Critics complained that Denise Eisenberg Rich, [Marc Rich's] former wife, had made substantial donations to both the Clinton library and to Mrs. Clinton's senate campaign.
Longtime Clinton supporters and Democratic leaders such as former President Jimmy Carter, James Carville and Terry McAuliffe, were all critical of the Clinton pardon. Carter said the pardons were "disgraceful."
Agreed. I am no Obama fan - for one thing I think his unprecedented expansion of covert surveillance programs and defiant tone in the wake of the Snowden revelations did tremendous damage to US tech companies seeking to do business overseas. But I am quite happy he did this. It shows a measure of humanity and common sense that is rare in US politicians. These are traits that we are unlikely to see in the next President, regardless of which candidate wins.
According to the report on NPR, they are inmates would have served more time than they would if they were convicted today (due to changes in sentencing guidelines or criminal classifications). It seems to me like we should default to releasing such people or it should at least not require something as powerful as a presidential pardon.
