This is not an April Fool’s joke.
As part of his effort to reform jail sentences for “non-violent” offenders, President Obama on Wednesday commuted the sentences of two crack dealers from Alabama who were both convicted on drug and gun charges.
“They’re Americans who’d been serving time on the kind of outdated sentences that are clogging up our jails and burning through our tax dollars,” Obama insisted. He commuted the sentences of 61 prisoners total.
The President contended that “most of them are low-level drug offenders whose sentences would have been shorter if they were convicted under today’s laws.”
RELATED: Shelby reveals Obama let two ‘convicted gun-toting drug dealers’ from Alabama out of prison
Senator Richard Shelby’s office (R-AL) researched the list of criminals Obama has released thus far, they found a surprising statistic: 33 of them were convicted on at least one gun related offense.
Despite calling for increased gun control during the course of his administration, the President’s actions will put two felons convicted of gun related drug crime back on the streets of Alabama.
The first felon whose sentence was commuted is Ian Kavanaugh Gavin of Eight Mile, AL. He was convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine while carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Originally, Kavanaugh was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment, but that sentence is no more. His Prison sentence is now commuted to expire on July 28, 2016, and supervised release term commuted to four years of supervised release.
The second was Jerome Harris, Jr. of Mobile, AL. Harris was convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine while possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. His Sentence was 300 months’ imprisonment with 10 years’ supervised release. Now, his prison sentence has been commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.
“The American people expect their leaders to do everything in our power to keep them safe,” said Sen. Shelby. “Unfortunately, President Obama has used his executive clemency initiative to reduce the sentences of a total of 33 individuals who were convicted of firearm-related offenses to date. At the same time, this President has repeatedly attempted to infringe upon the American people’s Second Amendment rights through executive fiat.”
Shelby also sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch criticizing the Justice Department for failing to “properly screen requests for executive clemency.”
“I am deeply concerned with the mixed messages being sent by this Administration’s decision to let criminals with firearm-related convictions off easy while attempting to make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves,” Shelby concluded. “I believe that this Administration’s decision completely contradicts efforts to achieve a critical goal: keeping our communities safe.”
Shelby’s full letter to Attorney General Lynch can be found here.
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