Which notable individuals received full pardons versus commutations from Obama?

1. The legal distinction and the scale of Obama’s clemency push

A commutation reduces or ends a sentence while leaving the underlying conviction intact; a pardon expresses executive forgiveness and can restore rights after conviction or sentence completion ^[2]. Obama’s clemency program emphasized sentence commutations as a corrective to what his administration characterized as overly harsh drug‑war sentences: by one widely cited accounting he issued about 1,715 commutations and 212 pardons for a total near 1,927 acts of clemency—an unprecedented volume of commutations relative to recent presidents ^{[1] [2]}.

2. High‑profile commutations: examples and context

Among the most discussed commutations were Chelsea Manning, whose 35‑year sentence for WikiLeaks‑related convictions was commuted so she could be released in May 2017, and Puerto Rican separatist Oscar López Rivera, whose long sentence was likewise commuted in 2017 ^[1]. The White House framed many commutations as targeted relief for nonviolent drug offenders who had received mandatory and lengthy terms; the December 2016 and January 2017 clemency batches explicitly prioritized inmates who had demonstrated rehabilitation and could benefit from reentry opportunities ^{[5] [6]}.

3. Notable pardons Obama granted and the types of cases involved

Obama’s pardons were smaller in number and typically followed sentence completion or involved restoration of rights: the president pardoned former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs James Cartwright and baseball Hall of Famer Willie McCovey, among others noted in White House materials ^[1]. Financial figure Michael Milken is cited in fact‑checks and reporting as having received presidential clemency in the 1990s (not by Obama) but appears in contextual comparisons; the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney maintains the official, itemized list of pardons Obama actually granted ^{[2] [3]}. White House summaries show dozens of individual pardon grants across multiple years rather than mass, headline‑dominating events ^{[6] [7]}.

4. The last‑day commutation surge and how it was reported

Obama’s final full day in office saw a record one‑day clemency action: 330 commutations announced on January 19, 2017, part of the broader push that produced hundreds of sentence reductions across his second term ^[1]. That surge, and the overall focus on commutations, spawned public confusion and viral claims that Obama had “pardoned” more than 1,700 people—an error repeatedly corrected by fact‑checkers who stressed the substantive difference between pardons and commutations ^[8].

5. Competing narratives: reform-minded mercy vs. critics’ concerns

Supporters framed the commutation effort as pragmatic correction of sentencing excesses and as a component of broader criminal‑justice reform; the White House repeatedly tied commutation grants to rehabilitation metrics and noted that commutations do not erase convictions but shorten demonstrably excessive terms ^{[9] [5]}. Critics argued that mass commutations risked bypassing traditional review norms or could appear politically motivated; the public record and the DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney provide itemized grants to allow scrutiny of individual cases ^{[3] [10]}.

6. Where to verify individual cases and the limits of reporting here

The Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney hosts the authoritative PDFs and searchable lists of every pardon and commutation Obama issued, and White House press releases document many of the batches and specific names ^{[3] [6]}. This analysis highlights the clearest, notable examples found in those public records and in mainstream fact‑checks; if a specific individual’s clemency status is in question, the DOJ list is the definitive source to consult ^[3].