Obama commutes sentences of 102 more prisoners, including 5 from South Florida

13 total federal inmates from Florida among latest round of shortened sentences

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – President Barack Obama is cutting short the sentences of 102 federal inmates as part of his ongoing push to grant clemency during his final months in office.

Among those inmates with commuted sentences are 13 prisoners from Florida. Five men -- Virgil Darville, Jefferson Levine, Raul Perez, Ronald Razz and Manuel Viera -- are from South Florida.

The latest round brings to 774 the number of sentences Obama has commuted, including 590 this year. The White House says it's more than the previous 11 presidents put together.

Almost all of those receiving commutations were convicted of drug-related offenses. Most are considered nonviolent offenders, although some were convicted of firearms charges in connection with drug crimes.

Many of the recipients had been serving life sentences.

But Obama isn't setting them all free right away. Many of those receiving commutations will see their sentences end in October 2018, almost two years into the next president's term.


About the Authors

Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.

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