Thanks, Obama: President Commutes Sentences of New Berlin, Evansville Men

WISCONSIN -- President Obama on Tuesday commuted the sentences of 111 more federal inmates, bringing the total to 673 since he took office. Of those 111, two were from Wisconsin: Brian Allen Altman of New Berlin, and Duane Clasen of Evansville.

The inmates were in prison for non-violent drug offenses, and 11 people also had been convicted of firearms offenses. Of the 111 announced Tuesday, 56 people will be freed by the end of the year. The others will be released early, in 2017 and 2018.

A separate group will be freed before their sentences are up but after 2018.

Brian Allen Altman – New Berlin, WI
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (two counts); Western District of Virginia Sentence: 480 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (February 23, 2007).
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 180 months' imprisonment.

Duane Clasen – Evansville, WI
Offense: 1. Distribution of approximately 6.85 grams of methamphetamine (mixture), after having previously been convicted of one or more felony drug offenses; Northern District of Iowa
2. Supervised release violation (distribution of amphetamine); Northern District of Iolwa
Sentence: 1. 200 months' imprisonment (July 25, 2003)
2. 36 months' imprisonment (consecutive); six years’ supervised release; $6,142.75 restitution (October 29, 1999) Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on August 15, 2017, and unpaid balance of restitution obligation remitted.

The White House says Obama's 673 commutations are more than the past 10 presidents combined. But that statistic is a bit misleading.

While the president has been liberal in commuting sentences, he has been reluctant to issue full pardons. The 70 pardons he has issued during his presidency are the fewest for any president since James Garfield, who was assassinated fewer than seven months into his first term.

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

In May, Obama lessened sentences for 56 people. Earlier this month, he announced commutations for 214 people.

Since the so-called "War on Drugs" began in the 1980s, the number of people in jail for drug offenses increased from 41,000 in 1980 to nearly a half-million in 2014, according to The Sentencing Project, and one in nine people are serving life sentences. Advocates for reducing prison populations say that sentences of nonviolent offenses should be capped at 20 years.
Image via White House, Flickr