Alice Johnson Granted Commutation By President Trump

Alice Marie Johnson, the 63-year-old Tennessee woman serving a life sentence for a first time non-violent drug offense, was granted a commutation by President Donald Trump. The commutation comes a week after Kim Kardashian West advocated on Johnson's behalf in a meeting with Trump.

"Ms. Johnson has accepted responsibility for her past behavior and has been a model prisoner over the past two decades," the White House said in a statement Wednesday. "Despite receiving a life sentence, Alice worked hard to rehabilitate herself in prison, and act as a mentor to her fellow inmates. Her Warden, Case Manager, and Vocational Training Instructor have all written letters in support of her clemency. According to her Warden, Arcala Washington-Adduci [Ms. Johnson], since arrival at this institution, she has exhibited outstanding and exemplary work ethic. She is considered to be a model inmate who is willing to go above and beyond in all work tasks.

"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."

Johnson has been serving a life sentence in Alabama since 1996 and will be released from prison after serving 21 years, according to Mic. West took an interest in the case after watching a video from Mic's opinion section that shared Johnson's story.

Kardashian West expressed her excitement at the news of the clemency in a tweet.

In subsequent tweets, Kardashian West thanked Trump and senior adviser to the president Jared Kushner, with whom she had initially met regarding Johnson's case. Kardashian West also said she hopes to continue working with organizations doing similar work.

Trump even won applause for the commutation from The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization that is at the forefront of opposing the president's agenda. ACLU attorney Jennifer Turner said in a statement that she was grateful to Trump for granting clemency and to Kardashian West for her advocacy.

The ACLU highlighted Johnson's case in a 2013 case study. According to the ACLU, Johnson was arrested in 1993 and accused of participating with 15 others in a drug trafficking operation distributing cocaine in Memphis. A single mother of five, Johnson received no help from her ex-husband and lost her job of 10 years in 1990 because of a gambling addiction, the ACLU writes. She said her life began to go out of control in 1991 and she became involved in the drug conspiracy out of desperation. According to the ACLU, Johnson said she never made deals or sold drugs but relayed messages and temporarily held money for her co-defendant. She was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, attempted possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and deliver, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and structuring a monetary transaction.

The ACLU wrote about some of the ways her incarceration affected her family. Her son is himself incarcerated now and her eldest daughter had to take a second job, extra student loans and an extra car loan to help pay her mother's legal bills. She became a grandmother and a great-grandmother while incarcerated. In prison, she became a hospice volunteer, helped coordinate the prison's special Olympics and tutored other prisoners, according to the ACLU. She took a number of classes in prison and held various jobs. She also wrote and directed plays and became ordained by proxy as a minister.

"I now know that I’m just as guilty as if I had sold drugs myself… I live daily with the pain and regret of my choices," she told the ACLU in 2013.

Johnson's commutation comes less than a week after Trump pardoned conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza who was convicted of making an illegal campaign contribution. At the time, he said he was also considering commuting the sentence of imprisoned Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and possibly pardoning Martha Stewart. On Wednesday, Blagojevich officially submitted paperwork asking for a commutation.

CNN reported on Wednesday that the White House has assembled paperwork to pardon at least 30 people.

Photo via @realDonaldTrump