President Obama commuted the sentence of a Detroit man sent to prison for life on drug charges, saying it and nearly four dozen other federal inmates’ sentences are too harsh.
Patrick Roberts, 65, was sentenced to life in prison in 1999 after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine and marijuana, the Detroit Free Press reports. Roberts had four previous drug convictions, and sentencing guidelines at the time made the life prison sentence mandatory.
Robert is serving his sentence at the federal prison in Terre Haute, IN. Previous requests to have his sentence reduced were denied.
In a video message, Obama said the inmates “were not hardened criminals.” Mot had been sentenced to at least 20 years.
“Their punishments didn’t fit the crime,” Obama said in the message.
“I’ve made clear to them that re-entering society is going to require responsibility on their part and hard work and smarter choices,” the president said. “But I believe that at it’s heart, America’s a nation of second chances and I believe these folks deserve their second chance.”
The 46 federal prisoners whose sentences were commuted by Obama all had been convicted on drug charges, and their sentences will all end on Nov. 10.
Roberts is the only one from Michigan included in the order.