Yep. Followed this a bit. He finally got something right.

These guys got the shaft. Bush did the right thing.

Good.

I agree that it's better than nothing, but they both should have received full pardons. Commuting their sentences merely creates a new set of problems; they'll soon be out of prison, but they'll still have felony records, which severely limits their future employment prospects (convicted felons cannot hold government jobs).

     If they decide to pursue it, they'll spend the next five years or more just trying to clear their names. I've never understood how or why their defense attorneys were not allowed to divulge the fact that the man they shot was a known drug dealer, and that both men had simply reacted according to their training. The suppression of this evidence clearly had an impact on the jury's verdicts, but if they can't get that evidence heard in court, the chances that they'll ever be completely exonerated (as they deserve to be), is virtually nil.

     I can't imagine how Bush could possibly pi$$ off anyone who doesn't already hate his guts, so he had nothing left to lose by granting them full and unconditional pardons. The commutations were a step in the right direction, but it was only a step; they still have a very long and expensive journey ahead of them.

     I wish them both the best of luck ...

     Jim

Now President Obama can commute the sentence.
Thats simple enough.

Thanks for your comments everyone. To jim695: I read on the WND site in one of the articles there was a technicality according to the justice dept. was the reason for no full pardon. So that brings up the question, why Bush couldn't make their release immediate ? I suspect he could have, but put off their release until March 20 so he wouldn't look soft. Just guessing. . .
Apparently the defendants turned down a plea bargain offer of one year each in prison and chose to exercise their Constitutional right to a jury trial. ( There's something wrong with the system right here. Most cases are pleaded out, never go to court and lots of innocents go to prison because they are afraid of losing in court and getting much more prison time if they lose. Talk about a gamble!) Then the prosecutor charged them with a law never aplied before to lawmen! Then, the prosecutor upped the anti to 20 year sentences!! I suspect there was more of a political reason for all the crazy things that occured in this case.