WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the latter part of his presidency, Barack Obama has continually commuted the sentences of “non-violent offenders”, a practice Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) believes could have disastrous results. Contrary to the President’s assertion that those whom he is releasing are not a danger to society, the Alabama Senator asserts the opposite.
“This is President Obama’s policy…to basically cut people’s sentences that have been lawfully imposed throughout this country, and it’s impacting public safety, in my opinion, and will continue to do so in the future,” Sessions said on the Senate floor on Tuesday.
Some of the felons that have had their sentences commuted are from the Yellowhammer State. In April, two Alabama armed drug dealers had their sentences shortened and are both set to be released this year.
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After their reduction, Sessions’ colleague, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), penned a scathing letter calling the administrations’ actions on crime hypocritical. “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,” He wrote. “At the same time, this President has repeatedly attempted to infringe upon the American people’s Second Amendment rights through executive fiat.”
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But Sessions posited in his speech that such grants are only the tip of the iceberg.
“According to the FBI statistics released just this year, the number of violent crimes committed across the country was up in the first half of 2015 compared with the same period of 2014. There was a 6.2 percent increase in murders, [and] violent crime across America rose 5.3 percent in large cities,” he said. “What I’m seeing is, in my judgment, that this is a long-term trend. I think we’re going to continue to see this increase. I wish it weren’t so, but I’m afraid it is.”
Just twelve days ago, the Obama administration reduced the sentence of another Alabama drug dealer who is currently being held in a federal corrections facility in Louisiana. In October of 2005, Jerome Lee Menefee was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He is now set for release on September 2.
RELATED: Obama just let another Alabama drug dealer out of prison
“When you have 20, 30, 40 percent increases in crime, you’re talking about doubling the crime rate, the murder rate in America in two or three years, after we spent 20 years bringing it down by half,” Sessions continued. “We’ve got to be sure what we are doing here, colleagues, is smart and we’re not signing death warrants for thousands of American innocent citizens.”
The entire segment from Sessions floor speech can be seen in the YouTube clip below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F8SXeP1-bA&feature=youtu.be
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