Obama commutes 153 sentences, pardons 78 prisoners in largest-ever act of clemency

President Obama.
(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch - Pool/Getty Images)

President Obama on Monday commuted the sentences of 153 prisoners convicted of federal crimes and pardoned 78 others, marking the largest act of clemency in a single day ever by a U.S. president.

White House Counsel Neil Eggleston said in a statement Monday that all 231 individuals who benefited from Obama's acts were "deserving," and that they "have all demonstrated that they are ready to make use — or have already made use — of a second chance."

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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.