WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday cut prison time for a drug convict sentenced to more than three extra years because of a typographical error in a court order.

White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said Obama’s commutation of Ceasar Cantu’s sentence from 15 to 11 1/2 years demonstrates “the importance of clemency as a fail-safe mechanism” for worthy inmates who run out of options. She said Obama has directed the Justice Department to improve its clemency recommendation process and recruit more applications from convicts.

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