US President Barack Obama [official website] on Friday commuted [press release] the sentences of 42 inmates convicted of drug offenses as part of his ongoing efforts toward criminal justice reform [materials]. The 42 inmates [press release] received the commutation and a remittance of fines for some because they were believed to have earned a second chance and paid their debt to society. The men and women were convicted of various drug related charges where their sentences ranged from months to life in prison for their non-violent acts. The commutations are scheduled to go into effect beginning on October 1, 2016, throughout June 2018. The president has now commuted the sentences of 348 individuals incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses.

Obama has recently been striving to reform the harsh sentences for non-violent drug offenders. In March Obama commuted [JURIST report] the sentences of 61 federal drug offenders in an effort to reform the sentencing of non-violent criminals. Former Pardon Attorney Deborah Leff indicated [JURIST report] that the pardon system is broken in her resignation letter that was obtained by USA Today the same month after a Freedom of Information Act request. Last July Obama commuted the sentences [JURIST report] of 46 drug offenders in what he said was part of an effort by his administration to remedy the unfairness of the criminal justice system