President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 214 federal prisoners Wednesday, granting the most commutations in a single day in more than a century, Time reports.
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According to the White House, Obama has now officially commuted the sentences of 562 men and women “incarcerated under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws, including 197 individuals who were serving life sentences.”
The majority of these offenders, the White House notes, were sentenced for nonviolent drug crimes. Wednesday’s 214 grants of commutation mark the most grants given in a single day since at least 1900, according to another report by the White House.
The White House also notes that Obama has now granted commutations to more prisoners than the past nine presidents of the United States combined.
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