奧巴馬爲214名毒犯減刑 創一天內減刑量之最紀錄

US President Barack Obama has cut short the jail sentences of 214 federal inmates, including 67 life sentences, in what officials say is the single biggest act of presidential clemency in more than 100 years.

日前，美國總統貝拉克·奧巴馬縮短了214名聯邦囚犯的監禁刑期，其中包括67名無期徒刑犯人。官方表示，這創下了至少100年以來總統一天之內減刑數量之最的記錄。

Most of those affected were guilty of non-violent crimes, many involving possession or distribution of drugs.

被赦免的犯人中大多數都是非暴力犯罪，許多人都是因持有和販賣毒品而入獄。

The president has now made 562 commutations, officials say. He has authorised more than the previous nine presidents combined. Almost all the prisoners were convicted for crimes related to cocaine, methamphetamine or other drugs.

有官員表示，奧巴馬目前爲止已經對562人做出了減刑赦免。他赦免的人數比前九任總統赦免加起來還要多。幾乎所有犯人被判有罪的原因都是犯下了和可卡因、冰毒以及其他毒品有關的罪行。

A few are in jail for firearms violations related to their drug activities. Almost all those affected are men, representing a diverse geographical cross-section of the US.

一部分被判入獄是因爲犯下了和毒品活動相關的槍支違法行爲。被赦免的犯人幾乎全部是男性，他們來自美國不同的地方。

"All of the individuals receiving commutation were incarcerated under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws," White House counsel Neil Eggleston wrote in a blog post. "They embody the president's belief that America is a nation of second chances."

白宮法律顧問尼爾·埃格爾斯頓在其一篇博文中寫道：“這次所有被減刑的犯人們都曾因過時和量刑過重的法律而被囚禁。他們體現了奧巴馬總統的信念--美國是一個有第二次機會的國家。”

Correspondents say that Mr Obama's drive to reduce the sentences of non-violent drug offenders as part of his clemency initiative reflects his long-held belief that the US needs to introduce less severe sentencing requirements.

有記者指出，奧巴馬對這些非暴力毒品犯罪者減刑的行爲是其特赦計劃的一部分，反映出了他長久以來所秉持的信念--美國需要引入不那麼嚴苛的量刑要求。

One of the inmates benefitting from the president's leniency is reported by the AP news agency to be Dicky Joe Jackson of Texas. He was sentenced to life in 1996 for methamphetamine violations and for being a felon with an unlicensed gun.

據美聯社報道，在受益於此次總統赦免的犯人中，有一名犯人是來自於德州的迪克·喬·傑克遜。在1996年，他因冰毒犯罪和無證持槍被判終身監禁。

Jackson was reported to have said in 2013 that he would have preferred a death sentence: "I wish it were over, even if it meant I were dead."

據報道，傑克遜於2013年曾表示，自己寧願被判死刑：“我希望這一切在那時就能夠結束，即便這意味着我已經死了。”