Why President Obama just granted clemency to 58 men and women

10:00 am: The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing

4:00 pm: The President meets with Secretary of Defense Carter

Yesterday, President Obama wrote on Medium to announce 58 new grants of clemency and highlight the stories of former clemency recipients who have made the most of their second chances:

“As President, I’ve been working to bring about a more effective approach to our criminal justice system, particularly when it comes to drug crimes. Part of that effort has been to reinvigorate our commutations process, and highlight the individuals like Philip who are doing extraordinary things with their second chances. To date, I will have commuted 306 individual sentences, which is more than the previous six presidents combined.”

READ THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE AND WATCH THE VIDEO

On March 30, 2016, the President stopped by a White House meeting to meet with Norman Brown and other individuals who had been granted clemency in the past. Watch Norman’s story to see how he’s making the most of his second chance.

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Celebrating Cinco de Mayo at the White House

“We couldn’t have done it without you. Together, we increased high school and college graduation rates, cutting the Latino dropout rate by more than half since 2000. Together, we ensured that more than 700,000 DREAMers have the opportunity to reach their potential. Together, we continue to fight to fix our broken immigration system.” -President Obama celebrating his final Cinco de Mayo at the White House

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