By the end of his second and final term on January 20, 2017, United States President Barack Obama had exercised his constitutional power to grant the executive clemency—that is, "pardon, commutation of sentence, remission of fine or restitution, and reprieve"—to 1,927 individuals convicted of federal crimes. Of the acts of clemency, 1,715 were commutations (including 504 life sentences) and 212 were pardons. Most individuals granted executive clemency by Obama had been convicted on drug charges,Allie Malloy, , CNN (December 2016). and had received lengthy and sometimes mandatory sentences at the height of the war on drugs.Matt Apuzzo, After Obama Push for Clemency, Hints of Reversal Likely to Come, The New York Times (November 22, 2016).

Obama granted 330 commutations on January 19, 2017, his last full day in office, setting a record for the largest single-day use of the clemency power that would stand until Joe Biden commuted nearly 1,500 sentences on December 12, 2024. Obama also issued more commutations than the past 13 presidents combined.

Constitutional provision

The pardon powers of the president are outlined in Article Two of the United States Constitution (Section 2, Clause 1), which provides:

Definitions A pardon is an executive order granting clemency for a conviction, it may be granted "at any point after the ... commission" of the crime. As per Justice Department regulations, convicted persons may only apply five or more years after their sentence has been completed. However, the president's power to pardon is not restricted by any temporal constraints except that the crime must have been committed. Its practical effect is the restoration of civil rights and statutory disabilities (e.g., firearm rights, occupational licensing) associated with a past criminal conviction. In rarer cases, such as the pardon of Richard Nixon, a pardon can also halt criminal proceedings and prevent an indictment.

A commutation is the mitigation of the sentence of someone currently serving a sentence for a crime pursuant to a conviction, without vacating the conviction itself.

Pardons and commutations

This is a partial list of people pardoned or granted clemency by a United States president, ordered by date of pardon or commutation. For an updated list, see U.S. Department of Justice.

Pardons

December 3, 2010 Name Court or home city Sentencing date Sentence Offense James Bernard Banks United States District Court for the District of Utah 1972 2 years' probation Illegal possession of government property Russell James Dixon United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia 1960 2 years' probation Liquor law violation Laurens Dorsey United States District Court for the District of New Jersey 1998 5 years' probation; $71,000 restitution Conspiracy to defraud by making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration Ronald Lee Foster United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina 1963 Probation; $20 fine Mutilation of coins Timothy James Gallagher United States District Court for the District of Arizona 1982 3 years' probation Cocaine possession and conspiracy to distribute Roxane Kay Hettinger United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa 1986 30 days in jail; 3 years' probation Conspiracy to distribute cocaine Edgar Leopold Kranz Jr. General court-martial convened at Hickam Air Force Base 1994 24 months' confinement; reduction in pay Cocaine use, adultery and bouncing checks Floretta Leavy United States District Court for the District of Kansas 1994 1 year in prison; 3 years' probation Drug offenses Scoey Lathaniel Morris United States District Court for the Western District of Texas 1991 3 years' probation; $1,200 fine Counterfeiting offense.

May 20, 2011 Name Court or home city Sentencing date Sentence Offense Randy Eugene Dyer United States District Court for the Western District of Washington 1975 5 years in prison Conspiracy to import marijuana (hashish), conspiracy to remove baggage from the custody and control of the U.S. Customs Service and convey false information concerning an attempt to damage a civil aircraft Danny Alonzo Levitz United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana 1980 2 years of probation, $400 fine Conspiracy Michael Ray Neal United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia 1991 6 months in prison, 3 years of supervised release conditioned on 6 months of home confinement, $2,500 fine Manufacture, assembly, modification and distribution of equipment for unauthorized decryption of satellite cable programming Edwin Alan North United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana 1980 6 months of unsupervised probation Transfer of a firearm without payment of transfer tax Allen Edward Peratt United States District Court for the District of South Dakota 1990 30 months in prison, 5 years of supervised release Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine Christine Marie Rossiter United States District Court for the District of Nebraska 1992 3 years of probation conditioned on performance of 500 hours of community service Conspiracy to distribute less than 50 kilograms of marijuana Patricia Ann Weinzatl United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin 2001 3 years of probation, $5,000 fine Structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements Bobby Gerald Wilson United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia 1985 3½ months in prison, 5 years of probation conditioned on performance of 300 hours of community service, $400 fine Aiding and abetting the possession and sale of illegal American alligator hides (Lacey Act)

November 21, 2011 Name Court or home city Sentencing date Sentence Offense Lesley Claywood Berry Jr. United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 1988 3 years in prison Conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, and distribute marijuana Bobby Jackson United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama 1987 5 years' probation and $20,000 fine Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 1,000 pounds of marijuana Ricky Dale Collett United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky 2002 1 year of probation conditioned on 60 days of home detention Aiding and abetting in the manufacture of 61 marijuana plants Martin Kaprelian United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 1984 9 years in prison, 5 years of probation Conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce, transporting stolen property, concealing stolen property Thomas Paul Ledford United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee 1995 1 year of probation conditioned on performance of 100 hours of community service Conducting and directing an illegal gambling business

March 1, 2013 Name Court or home city Sentencing date Sentence Offense Robert Leroy Bebee Rockville, Maryland 1979 Two years' probation Misprision (concealment) of a felony James Anthony Bordinaro Gloucester, Massachusetts 1991 12 months' imprisonment, three years' supervised release and a $55,000 fine Conspiracy to restrain, suppress, and eliminate competition in violation of the Sherman Act; conspiracy to submit false statements Kelli Elisabeth Collins Harrison, Arkansas 1994 Five years' probation Aiding and abetting a wire fraud Edwin Hardy Futch Jr. Pembroke, Georgia 1976 Five years' probation, $2,399.72 restitution Theft from an interstate shipment Cindy Marie Griffith Moyock, North Carolina 2000 Two years' probation with 100 hours of community service Distribution of satellite cable television decryption devices Roy Eugene Grimes Sr. Athens, Tennessee 1961 18 months' probation Falsely altering a United States postal money order, uttering, and publishing a forged and altered money order with intent to defraud Jon Christopher Kozeliski Decatur, Illinois 1994 One year of probation with six months of home confinement, $10,000 fine Conspiracy to traffic counterfeit goods Jimmy Ray Mattison Anderson, South Carolina 1969 Three years' probation Conspiracy to transport and cause the transportation of altered securities in interstate commerce; transporting and causing the transportation of altered securities in interstate commerce An Na Peng Honolulu, Hawaii 1996 Two years' probation, $2,000 fine Conspiracy to defraud the Immigration and Naturalization Service Michael John Petri Montrose, South Dakota 1989 Five years' imprisonment, three years' supervised release Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance (cocaine) Karen Alicia Ragee Decatur, Illinois 1994 One year of probation with six months of home confinement, $2,500 fine Conspiracy to traffic counterfeit goods Jamari Salleh Alexandria, Virginia 1989 Four years' probation, $5,000 fine, $5,900 restitution False claims upon and against the United States Alfor Sharkey Omaha, Nebraska 1994 Three years' probation with 100 hours of community service, $2,750 restitution Unauthorized acquisition of food stamps Donald Barrie Simon Jr. Chattanooga, Tennessee 1982 Two years' imprisonment, three years' probation Aiding and abetting in the theft of an interstate shipment Lynn Marie Stanek Tualatin, Oregon 1986 Six months in jail, five years' probation conditioned on residence in a community treatment center for a period not to exceed one year Unlawful use of a communication facility to distribute cocaine Larry Wayne Thornton Forsyth, Georgia 1974 Four years' probation Possession of an unregistered firearm; possession of a firearm without a serial number Donna Kaye Wright Friendship, Tennessee 1983 54 days' imprisonment, three years' probation conditioned on performance of six hours of community service per week Embezzlement and misapplication of bank funds

December 19, 2013