President Barack Obama on Monday granted clemency to 46 drug offenders in federal prisons as part of his administration's effort to reform the criminal justice system.

"Their punishments didn't fit the crime, and if they had been sentenced under today's laws, almost all of them would have served their time," Obama said in an announcement video about the men and women who have spent years and even decades in prison for non-violent drug offenses.

In the video, Obama also said the people whose sentences he commuted were not "hardened criminals," but "the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years." Meanwhile, 14 of the inmates were sentenced to life behind bars for non-violent drug offenses.

"I believe that at its heart, America is a nation of second chances. And I believe these folks deserve their second chance," he added.

Most of the commutations involved cocaine trafficking. The prisoners are set to be released by Nov. 10, reports USA Today.

Altogether, Obama has commuted the sentences of 89 people during his tenure. However, the 46 commutations marks the most granted by a president in one day since at least the Lyndon Johnson administration back in the 1960s.

Criminal reform activists applauded the president's announcement.

"We made a terrible mistake 30 years ago when we created the laws that sent these men and women away for so long," said Julie Stewart, president and founder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, according to the Washington Post. "What the president did for them today is its own form of justice, leavened with mercy. I'm so happy to see these people go home, but I can't help but also think about the mothers and fathers who will be sentenced today, and tomorrow, to the same excessively long prison terms. Ultimately, no number of commutations can mitigate the continuing impact of excessively harsh drug mandatory minimums, which is why we need to reform sentencing policies."

Obama's announcement comes just days before he is scheduled to tour Oklahoma's El Reno Correctional Institution in Oklahoma on Thursday, which will make him the first sitting U.S. president to a visit a federal prison. During his visit, the president will meet with both law enforcement officials and prisoners at the medium security prison. The trip will also be recorded by Vice as part of an HBO documentary slated to air later this year.

Watch Obamas clemency announcement below.