In a move to give people second chances, President Barack Obama commuted the jail term of the mother of Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas as well as 46 others facing nonviolent drug charges.

ESPN said that among those who had their sentences reduced were 14 people who were sentenced with life imprisonment as part of the clemency initiative of the Justice department.

The US President claimed that the punishment given to these people "didn't fit the crime."

This number is also said to be the largest commuted by a president since the 1960s.

Thomas' mother Katrina Smith and his maternal grandmother Minnie Pearl were arrested 11 years ago inside their home in Montrose, Georgia.

A Rolling Stone report revealed that Smith has been serving her time in a federal prison in Florida where she was expected to stay until 2017. Pearl, on the other hand, was sentenced to life imprisonment and remains in prison until now.

"Their punishments didn't fit the crime, and if they had been sentenced under today's laws, nearly all of them would have served their time. I believe that at its heart, America is a nation of second chances, and I believe these folks deserve a second chance," Obama explained in a video posted on the White House website.

It added that federal sentencing can usually take nonviolent drug offenders to spend the rest of their life in prison.

According to the Rolling Stone, Thomas has been hopeful that his mother, who is serving a 24-year-sentence, would come home early.

"Hopefully, this year my mom will at least get out and get in a halfway house and come home. My main thing is trying to get her out of prison, and whatever the contract is, of course it will help," he said.

On his Facebook page, he also posted a photo of his mom with the caption "God is good.. Great news today, My Best lady come home November 10.. Godbless."

In an earlier interview with the New York Post, Smith said that she has been cheering for her son inside prison using pom-poms made out of newspaper.

"I was nervous, I was shaking, I was sweating, and waving our pom-poms, and I was holding my breath and I was like 'Oh my goodness, this is really happening, this is really happening. We were yelling and screaming and then we had to calm down because we didn't want to disturb any of the other ladies in the unit," she said of her first time to watch her son play in the NFL.

She also said that she had to apologise to her son for all her mistakes, with Thomas granting her forgiveness.

"It really made me happy, and our relationship grew from that point on," she said.

"It got stronger, and he would open up more about what was going on with him and what he was dealing with, and he included me more in situations that he had to deal with an everyday basis as far as his life, with his school, with his studies and stuff like that."