President Obama “do not” use power of forgiveness
President Obama has a request from a woman who is serving a 27-year prison term for a crack cocaine conspiracy. She would like President Barack Obama to use his power of forgiveness for the first time since taking office to commute her sentence. Stephanie Lomax who now has a prison name of Hamedah Hasan has two federal judges admit she should have gotten only 12 years at most but federal law dictates that crack crimes carry stronger sentences than those involving powder cocaine. This is a double shot of trouble for the president. The presidential power in the Constitution allows him to shorten her sentence as well as address the disproportion in prison terms for crack and powder cocaine. This is job for congress and it is tricky waters for a president to side step congress on this kind of issue. The states on this kind of action are as follows Clinton pardoned 396 people and shortened the sentences of 61. Bush pardoned 189 people and commuted sentences for 11. The truth of the matter is Lomax was convicted in 1993 a multistate conspiracy to deal crack cocaine. She received a life sentence that was shortened to 27 years. This does not seem like an issue President Obama can get behind, she will be released in 2020 if he does nothing. If she has her sentence reduced to twelve years she would have already served 17 and might sue for having spent an extra five years behind bars. This is a test President Obama needs to step away and let legislatures do their job.
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