President Obama Shortens 4 Michiganders’ Sentences in Sweeping Order

Four Michiganders were among 214 people whose sentences were shortened by President Obama Wednesday, the most commutations in a single day since at least 1900.

Samuel Gooms, of Clinton Township, was sentenced to life in prison on May 23, 2005, by a federal judge in Detroit after he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin and attempted possession with intent to deliver heroin. His sentence was commuted to a term of 240 months’ imprisonment.

The president also commuted the sentence of two Detroit residents.

William Anthony Freeman, who was sentenced to 480 months in prison on a conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced in U.S. District Court on Dec. 14, 1990, and he will be released by Dec. 1.

Vince Cordell King was sentenced in U.S. District Court to life plus five years in prison on May 21, 1996, on two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; using or carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime; and felon in possession of a firearm. His sentence will now expire on Dec. 1.

Also, John L. Tolliver, of Holly, was sentenced to 240 months in prison by a federal judge in Illinois on a charge of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base. He also will be released by Dec. 1.

Nearly all of the prisoners nationwide affected by the commutations were serving sentences for nonviolent drug crimes, and 67 people were serving life sentences. Many of the 214 people will be set free at the end of the year, while others will remain locked up another year or two. Some of them will have to enroll in mandatory drug programs once released.

The president has been pushing hard for shorter sentences for nonviolent criminals.

“This is a good day — not just for the 214 individuals who are getting a hard-earned second chance, but for the people at the White House and the Department of Justice and at advocacy organizations across the country who work every day to remedy injustices in our sentencing laws,” White House counsel Neil Eggleston told BuzzFeed,which first reported the news.

“We’re going to keep our foot on the gas pedal when it comes to reviewing applications for clemency, but we are also going to need leaders in both parties in Congress to pass long overdue reforms to our criminal justice system to achieve lasting change on the scale that is needed.”

Obama has now commuted 562 sentences during his presidency, which the White House says is more than the last eight presidents combined. In May, Obama lessened sentences for 56 people.

While leading the way on shorter sentences, the president has been reluctant to issue full pardons compared to his predecessors. His 70 since he took office is the lowest of any president since James Garfield, who died six months into his term, according to Yahoo News.

A pardon essentially wipes clean the slate of a convicted criminal. A commutation only lessens the punishment.

— Written by Marc Torrence (Patch National Staff)

— Image via the White House