Opinion

46 criminals Obama should not have forgiven

Some_More_Prison_Cells

There are currently over one million people in prison for non-violent offenses | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Forty-six people that made bad decisions, severely affecting others, are being rewarded.

President Obama, who for the most part has made decisions worth applauding, disappointed America by truncating the sentences of 46 drug offenders.

“I believe that at its heart, America is a nation of second chances, and I believe these folks deserve their second chance,” said President Obama on a Facebook video posted by The White House.

This marks Obama’s 89th truncation, for the most part granted to non-violent drug offenders sentenced under outdated sentencing guidelines.

Although the 46 forgiven convicted drug offenders are categorized as nonviolent,  at some point they played a role in the chain of drugs. Thirteen of them were even serving life sentences.

“Right now, with our overall crime rate and incarceration rate both falling, we’re at a moment when some good people in both parties, Republicans and Democrats and folks all across the country, are coming up with ideas to make the system work smarter and better,” said Obama.

This is merely Obama’s futile effort to fix the broken criminal justice system.

Modern society often holds criminals in contempt. Obama’s commutation proves sentencing and incarcerating is pointless.

“These men and women were not hardened criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years,” said Obama in the video.

But they made it in there for a reason.

On November 10th, such criminals will be living freely, the way innocent, good citizens, do. Obama seems to not be able to distinguish these criminals from the rest of us.

“I am granting your application because you have demonstrated the potential to turn your life around. Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity,” Obama wrote in a letter sent to all 46 criminals.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there has been a 29 percent increase in the total number of deaths from 2001 to 2013 caused by cocaine, and a five-fold increase in the total number of deaths from heroin during the same time period.

Innocent people all over the world have died from drugs, whether by accident, intentionally or other means, drugs have proven to be toxic no matter what country you’re in.

People deserve second chances and the needy criminal justice system needs a tune-up. But forgiving people who deal hard drugs isn’t the solution.

“It will not be easy, and you will confront many who doubt people with criminal records can change,” Obama wrote in the letter. “Perhaps even you are unsure of how you will adjust to your new circumstances. But remember that you have the capacity to make good choices.”

Second chances are good, but these types of second chances are different. These drug-related offenses come with a price tag that has been paid for by someone else who may no longer be living.

For Obama to show mercy to 46 nonviolent drug offenders, whether drug dealers or transporters, proves his vapid capacity to fully understand the severity of the issue and how families have lost loved ones as a result of drugs.

We cannot cater to those who do harm in our society.

 [email protected]

1 Comment

  • Federal drug laws are incredibly harsh, to sentence someone to life for selling drugs is insane. I don’t care how much the person sold or what drugs they sold. While I might have my own reasons for feeling this way considering I served an 80 month sentence in federal prison. I was a low level drug dealer and was given so much time due to the federal government being able to take people’s statements against me and make them complete facts even though they were far from that. But while I was incarcerated I met many good men who were sentenced to life for selling drugs. People do deserve second chances, locking someone up and throwing away the key helps no one. Why people selling drugs get more time than child molesters and murderers makes no sense to me.

Leave a Comment