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In this end-of-term round of Presidential commutes:
- Almost all the prisoners, including 67 with life sentences, were serving time for nonviolent drug crimes. The decision reflects the president's long-stated view that the U.S. needs to remedy the consequences of decades of sentencing requirements that put tens of thousands of Americans behind bars for far too long. Obama has pushed for a broader fix to criminal justice laws and has used the aggressive pace of his commutations in an effort to pressure Congress and call more attention to the issue.