President Obama has now commuted more prison sentences than the last 9 presidents combined

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 3 August 2016

President Obama just set the record for the largest number of sentences commuted in one day since "at least 1900," BuzzFeed reports. On Wednesday, Obama commuted the sentences of 214 prisoners, 67 of whom were serving life sentences and most of whom had been charged with nonviolent drug crimes.

Wednesday's round of commutations bumped Obama's total up to 562, and he is expected to issue more in his remaining months in office. "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. “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."