Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates released the following statement after the clemency announcement made today by President Obama:

“The president’s decision today to commute the prison terms of 95 individuals is another sign of this administration’s strong commitment to ensuring fairness in the criminal justice system.  The Justice Department has pursued that goal by changing charging policies through our Smart on Crime initiative, working cooperatively with the U.S. Sentencing Commission to reduce guidelines for certain drug offenders, urging Congress to enact meaningful and comprehensive sentencing reform legislation and identifying appropriate candidates for executive clemency. While the clemency initiative is just one prong in the larger effort to reform sentencing practices, it is one to which we are strongly committed.”