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President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a first-time nonviolent drug offender. This news comes just one week after Kim Kardashian met with Trump in the Oval Office to talk prison reform and plead for Johnson’s release.
In 1996, Johnson was convicted on eight criminal counts stemming from a Memphis-based cocaine trafficking operation. The 63-year-old great-grandmother was sentenced to life in prison in 1997 and was not eligible for parole. After serving 21 years, she was released from prison on June 6, 2018.
Alice Johnson, the moment she was released from prison and reunited with her family pic.twitter.com/qRi9HhI0JY
— #WVTM13 (@WVTM13) June 6, 2018
It looks like Kim and the clan may have helped contribute to this incredibly heartwarming moment. Persuading the president by using your ultra-celebrity power is always a good move.
The White House issued a statement regarding Johnson’s clemency, via CNN:
“Ms. Johnson has accepted responsibility for her past behavior and has been a model prisoner over the past two decades. Despite receiving a life sentence, Alice worked hard to rehabilitate herself in prison, and act as a mentor to her fellow inmates,” the White House said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“While this Administration will always be very tough on crime, it believes that those who have paid their debt to society and worked hard to better themselves while in prison deserve a second chance,” the statement added.
Timeline Of Events For Alice Johnson’s Campaign For Clemency
Johnson’s family has long campaigned for Alice’s release, saying she is a “model inmate” and involved with many of the prison’s programs, including working at their hospice center.
In 2014, the non-profit Can-Do, who advocates for clemency for non-violent drug offenders, began supporting her case.
Towards the end of Obama’s presidency in December 2016, he pardoned 231 individuals. Many of whom, had similar non-violent drug-related charges as Johnson. Although Johnson submitted her clemency application on three occasions to the Obama Administration, she was rejected each time for unknown reasons.
Johnson’s story eventually caught the attention of the Kardashian family in the fall of 2017. The Kardashian’s Los Angeles-based attorney, Shawn Holley told the NY Daily News, “Kim asked me several weeks ago how she could help Alice Johnson in her fight for justice. We then began corresponding with Alice and her team of lawyers.”
In May 2018, Kim Kardashian met with the president at the White House to talk “prison reform” and plead Johnson’s case.
Great meeting with @KimKardashian today, talked about prison reform and sentencing. pic.twitter.com/uOy4UJ41JF
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018
One week later, on June 6, 2018, this happened…
BEST NEWS EVER!!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 https://t.co/JUbpbE1Bk0
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 6, 2018
Congrats to Alice and the Johnson family, and kudos to any celebrity who uses their platform to support those in need.
