Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates Statement on the President’s Recent Clemency Decisions

Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates released the following statement following President Obama’s clemency announcement today:

“As a result of the President’s actions today, 58 more individuals, 18 of whom had been sentenced to life in prison, have been granted a second chance to lead productive and law-abiding lives.  Our clemency work is continuing as part of our broader efforts to effectuate criminal justice reform and ensure fairness and proportionality in sentencing.  That includes supporting the bipartisan efforts in Congress to pass criminal justice reform legislation, working with the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and continuing the department’s successful Smart on Crime initiative.”