Grumblings from the Left. Grumblings from the Right. Grumblings abounding.  And what are the complaints all about? President Obama's freeing from prison more than a hundred folks serving long prison sentences, mostly for non-violent crimes including drug offenses.  That makes 774 individuals provided clemency thus far with the waiting list stretching from D.C. to L.A.  Donald Trump protests, stating in August, "And these are people who are out, they're walking the streets. Sleep tight, folks,” while Hillary Clinton doesn't appear thrilled with the idea since her hubby was in the White House when most of the offenders received stiff sentences.  Deadhead serving life for selling LSD could be free in a year  She's been silent, but on her website the posting merely says that Clinton supports "allowing current nonviolent prisoners to seek fairer sentences."  So what is fair, Hillary, or The Donald, or society as a whole?  Certainly, the judges who imposed the heavy sentences way back when, some life in prison, thought they were distributing justice in a fair manner. They believed the punishment fit the crime and slam bam, the prison cells were full of people who the judges thought were an imminent threat to society.  But were they, or most importantly, are they now?  S.E. Cupp: Obama’s dangerous commutation that no one noticed  Perhaps Trump or Clinton, and those who question the President's wisdom for any number of reasons, should consider this question more in terms of asking what is the difference between justice and injustice?  Most would agree that while the punishment fit the crime in the olden days and that justice was served, by today's standards continuing to incarcerate drug offenders and such who have paid, or, in fact, overpaid their debt to society, amounts to injustice, a true violation of individual rights.  With this in mind, those opposed to the President's actions might consider Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."  Or, perhaps more significant to this situation, the comments of revered poet Robert Frost who stated, "Nothing can make injustice just but mercy."  Obama commutes Demaryius Thomas' grandmother's life sentence  Mark Shaw is a former criminal defense lawyer, legal analyst for USA Today, ESPN, and CNN for the Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant trials and the author of 25 books including his latest, "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of ‘What's My Line’ TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen." More about Mr. Shaw may be learned at www.markshawbooks.com and www.thereporterwhoknewtoomuch.com  For more DAILY VIEWS, The News' contributor network, click here.
Obama’s commutation of sentences for 774 inmates in prison for mostly drug offenses has sparked a debate on what was fair then and now.