Page 7 - Florida Sentinel 9-2-16 Online Edition

President News
President Obama Commutes Another 111 Sentences
Earlier this month, Presi- dent Obama granted com- mutation to 214 federal inmates, the most commuta- tions granted in a single day by any President in this na- tion’s history. With the addi- tional 111 grants on Tuesday, the President has commuted the sentences of 325 people in the month of August alone, which is the greatest number of commutations ever granted by a president in a single month.
The 325 commutations the President has granted in just one month is more than any president granted in a single year for nearly a century.
Tuesday’s 111 commutation grants underscore the Presi- dent’s commitment to using his clemency authority to pro- vide a second chance to de- serving individuals. To date, President Obama has granted 673 commutations: more commutations than the previous ten presidents com- bined. More than one-third of the President’s commuta- tion recipients, or 232 individ- uals, were serving life sentences.
These are individuals -- sons, daughters, parents, and in many cases, grandparents - - who have taken steps toward rehabilitation and who have earned their second chance. They are individuals who re- ceived unduly harsh sentences
President Obama visited with federal prisoners in 2015.
The chart shows the number of sentences commuted by each President.
under outdated laws for com- mitting largely nonviolent drug crimes, for example, the 35 individuals whose life sen- tences were commuted. For each of these applicants, the President considers the indi- vidual merits of each applica- tion to determine that an applicant is ready to make use of his or her second chance.
Although it is expected that the President will continue to grant commutations
through the end of this ad- ministration, the individual- ized nature of this relief highlights the need for bipar- tisan criminal justice reform legislation, including reforms that address excessive manda- tory minimum sentences. Only the passage of legislation can achieve the broader re- forms needed to ensure our federal sentencing system op- erates more fairly and effec- tively in the service of public safety.
White House Announces 2016 HBCU All-Stars
2015 Class of HBCU All-Stars
The White House has an- nounced its 2016 HBCU All- Stars. The class includes 73 students from 63 HBCUs. This impressive group of scholars were selected from more than 300 students in 24 states, the District of Columbia, Ghana, Nigeria, and the Virgin Is- lands. The group consists of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students recog- nized for their academics, leadership and civic engage- ment.
Over the next year the all- stars will have the opportunity to use the initiative as a net- working source, engage with their respective student bodies educating them on the value of an education and they will
even be able to attend the White House HBCU Week Conference in October.
U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. released a statement about the initiative and upcoming academic year. The Director of the initiative, Kim Hunter Reed said in a statement that she is sure these students will represent the program to the highest standard on their respective campuses.
“Our goal is to provide a unique opportunity for these talented students that exposes them to critical national con- versations and thought lead- ers. No doubt they will make their mark and represent their campuses well,” Reed said.
President To Be Guest Editor For ‘Wired’ Magazine
President Barack Obama will soon be able to add another title to his post- presidential résumé: guest ed-
itor of Wired magazine. Following in the footsteps of First Lady Michelle Obama, who guest-edited More magazine in 2015, President Obama will be- come the first President to guest edit a magazine, the publication said Tuesday, an- nouncing that the November issue’s theme would be “Fron-
tiers.”
When the Founders
wrote the Declaration of In- dependence and the Constitu-
tion, they were at the bleeding edge of Enlightenment philos-
ophy and technology,” Wired editor in chief Scott Dadich said of the issue, which will be available digitally on Oct. 18.
“We want to wrestle with the idea of how today’s technology can influence political leader- ship. And who better to help us explore these ideas than President Obama?”
The magazine also noted in its announcement that the White House will convene a “Frontiers conference” in- spired by the issue that will be co-hosted by the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mel- lon University on Oct. 13.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 7-A