Press Releases

Today, House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following joint statement after the White House announced the commutation of the sentences of 61 individuals:

 “We applaud the commutations announced today and commend the President’s continued commitment to using his constitutional authority to reduce sentences when appropriate.  During his time in office, he has now commuted the sentences of 248 individuals – more than the previous six presidents combined.  President Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch recognize that incarcerating people for unwarranted lengths of time serves no constructive purpose and that we need to take meaningful steps, including sentencing reform, to make our criminal justice system more just and, at the same time, more effective. We are pleased to be working with them in this effort as Congress continues its bipartisan initiative to adopt legislation to address the problems of unfair sentencing and over-incarceration.” 

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