CULLMAN, Ala. — President Obama announced Monday he was commuting the sentences of 46 non-violent drug offenders whose punishments, he said, did not fit their crimes. One Alabama man received a commuted sentence from the President, but local law enforcement is questioning whether or not he deserves to be released from federal prison.
Robert “Bobby” Joe Young of Joppa, Alabama, was arrested in 2000 for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, a substance containing methamphetamine and a substance containing cocaine; trafficking in methamphetamine; and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, among other charges.
Law enforcement found nearly 2 pounds of meth in a vehicle and barn on his property, as well as dozens of weapons.
President Obama noted in a video announcing the commutations through the White House’s social media pages that “[t]hese men and women were not hardened criminals,” and “America is a nation of second chances.”
While much attention has been brought to certain discrepancies and unfair practices in prison sentencing—Alabama just spearheaded its own sentencing reforms—some are questioning whether Young is one of the most deserving offenders to have his sentence commuted.
“I disagree with the president’s statement that these are not hardened criminals,” Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry told the Cullman Times. “You can’t tell me when you talk to victims that have had their doors kicked in that drug-related crimes are not violent.”
“I believe in second chances too,” said Gentry, “but that was (Young’s) second chance.”
Young was currently already on probation for a previous drug crime at the time of his arrest, and he received a 20 year sentence in December 2002.
“As a career law enforcement officer, you can’t tell me he’s not a hardened criminal,” Gentry said.
“Number one, President Obama has never been on the streets going after drug traffickers,” Gentry told WAFF news. “He has [never gone] into a house where there are 10-month-old babies that are involved with meth labs that haven’t been fed for days.”
Because Young received a commuted sentence, he is still considered guilty of the crime, but will be released from prison 7 years early in November.
The White House reportedly chose the 46 drug offenders from a list of more than 6,600 prisoners who applied for relief from their sentences.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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