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Statement on Commutation of Oscar Lopez-Rivera

We stand with the people of Puerto Rico and hundreds of civil rights organizations in thanking President Obama for commuting the sentence of Oscar Lopez-Rivera, the nation’s longest serving political prisoner. Mr. Lopez-Rivera has been in federal prison for nearly half his life, serving 35 years of a sentence that far exceeds the crime that he was charged with.

We want to recognize Congress members Luis Gutierrez, Nydia Velazquez and Jose Serrano, and New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, as well as countless community advocates for their courageous leadership in imploring the President to follow through on this act of grace and justice for Oscar, his family and our community.