Obama Commutes Sentences For Over 200 Inmates, Breaks Century-Old Record

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — President Barack Obama is cutting short the sentences of 214 federal inmates, including several Southland inmates serving life sentences.

The White House says it's the largest batch of commutations on a single day in more than a century. Almost all the prisoners were serving time for nonviolent drug offenses.

The commutations bring to 562 the total number of sentences Obama has shortened. The White House says that's more than the past nine presidents combined. Almost 200 of those who have benefited were serving life sentences.

Five Southland residents were among those who had their sentences commuted:

-- Charles Bynum of Torrance, who was sentenced in 2003 to life in prison in Florida for conspiracy to possess and distribute material containing
methamphetamine. His sentence will now end Aug. 3, 2018, conditioned on his enrollment in a residential drug treatment program.

-- Darnell Crookshank of West Covina, who was sentenced in 1996 to life in prison for drug conspiracy and manufacturing. His sentence will now end Dec. 1.

-- Keldren Joshua of Los Angeles, who is serving 168 months for conspiracy to possess and distribute a controlled substance. His sentence will
now end Dec. 1.

-- Gregory Allen Liningham of Los Angeles, who was sentenced in 1993 in Texas to life in prison for possession of crack. His sentence will now end Dec. 1.

-- Derwlyn Rosborough of Lake View Terrace, who was sentenced in Wyoming in 2002 to 240 months for possession of cocaine. his sentence will now end Dec. 1.

White House counsel Neil Eggleston says Obama will continue granting clemency to more inmates during the final months of his presidency. He says those receiving commutations were imprisoned under antiquated, overly harsh sentencing laws.

"The power to grant pardons and commutations...embodies the basic belief in our democracy that people deserve a second chance after having made a mistake in their lives that led to a conviction under our laws," Obama said.

Most inmates receiving commutations Wednesday will be released Dec. 1.

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