President Obama on Thursday commuted the prison sentences for eight people convicted of crack cocaine offenses and pardoned 13 others, surpassing in the fifth year of his presidency all the acts of clemency from his entire first term.

“I am commuting the prison terms of eight men and women who were sentenced under an unfair system,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “Commuting the sentences of these eight Americans is an important step toward restoring fundamental ideals of justice and fairness.”

Three years ago, Mr. Obama signed the bipartisan Fair Sentencing Act, which narrowed the disparity of penalties for crimes involving crack and powder cocaine. Those granted clemency Thursday were convicted long before the new law took effect.

“If they had been sentenced under the current law, many of them would have already served their time and paid their debt to society,” Mr. Obama said. “Instead, because of a disparity in the law that is now recognized as unjust, they remain in prison, separated from their families and their communities, at a cost of millions of taxpayer dollars each year.”

The president called on Congress to approve further sentencing reform measures to ensure “that our justice system keeps its basic promise of equal treatment for all.”

Mr. Obama granted clemency to only 23 people in his first term. This year, he has commuted sentences or granted pardons for 37 people.

Ronald Reagan signed 250 pardons for federal inmates in his first term; George H.W. Bush authorized 77 in his only term and Bill Clinton, 56 in his first term. George W. Bush granted clemency to 30 federal inmates in his first term.

Mr. Obama’s actions were hailed by Families Against Mandatory Minimums, an advocacy group that urged clemency for several of the people whose sentences were commuted.


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