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Commuting of sentences by President Obama
The article relates to the topics discussed in class, among them corrections, through imprisonment for drug dealing and possession of arms and types of crime, and public crime. It also relates to the topic of types of crimes, where this case falls under infractions because it is about drug dealing. Among the theories of criminal behavior are the historical philosophies and the current theories. Among the historical philosophies is the classical theory that explains that punishment keeps people from committing a crime and among the current theories is the rational choice theory that explains that a person chooses to indulge in crime. Going by the theories, the prisoners were freed based on the assumption that the punishment that they had received was to keep them from engaging in criminal activities again. The fact that engaging in crime is their choice, according to the second theory, President Obama arrived at his decision to commute their sentences and advised them to desire to engage in positive activities.
Crimes are classified based on how severe they are. They range from infractions, misdemeanors, to felonies on an increasing scale. It is important to understand the classification, especially for the ruling President. Understanding it enables the sitting President to decide whom to set free while halfway through their sentences. President Obama considered crimes of drug trafficking and possession of arms as infractions, and that the offers had been sentenced to extremely long jail terms.

The understanding enables the department of justice to decide the crimes that were least violent so that the people who committed them can be sent back to the society before the end of their jail terms. Crime in the article is mainly drug peddling and possession of arms, which is considered a misdemeanor (Horwitz 1).
I chose this article because it relates closely to the topics that we have covered in class relating to criminology. It involves matters to do with the classification of crime and the meaning of each category when it comes to sentencing and commuting of the sentences by the sitting President. It also determines who among the inmates can apply to have their sentences reviewed to be set free before their term ends.

Works Cited
Horwitz, Sari, and Juliet Eilperin. “Obama Commutes Sentences of 46 Nonviolent Drug Offenders.” 2015. PDF file.

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