President Trump’s advisers are contemplating Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for a drug conviction when the president commuted her sentence throughout his first time period, to be the “pardon czar,” in keeping with three individuals accustomed to the discussions.
It was not instantly clear what the position would entail, however Ms. Johnson, on the finish of Mr. Trump’s first time period, stated she wished to work on behalf of individuals she believed needs to be thought-about for clemency.
Ms. Johnson’s appointment has not been finalized, and like many issues in Mr. Trump’s world, plans may change. When reached by telephone, Ms. Johnson declined to remark. A White Home spokesman didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Ms. Johnson, whose case was initially delivered to Mr. Trump’s consideration by Kim Kardashian, has develop into a vocal supporter of the president. A few of Mr. Trump’s advisers see her as being politically useful to him through the years; throughout the 2020 presidential race, the Trump marketing campaign featured her in a Tremendous Bowl advert in an effort to achieve Black voters.
Nonetheless, her case, and the brand new position of “pardon czar,” present how Mr. Trump’s strategy to legal justice reform is rife with contradictions. He signed the bipartisan First Step Act, which aimed to scale back jail sentences for sure nonviolent drug crimes, throughout his first time period, then instructed advisers privately quickly afterward that he regretted it, in keeping with a number of officers working with him on the time.
Throughout his 2024 marketing campaign, he known as for capturing thieves who steal from drugstores and for the demise penalty for drug traffickers and sellers. Then, in one in every of his first acts as president in his second time period, he issued a grant of clemency to all the almost 1,600 individuals charged in reference to the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — violent and nonviolent alike.
Ms. Johnson’s case was seen for example of draconian sentencing legal guidelines that disproportionately affected nonviolent offenders, significantly girls and members of minority communities. Her case grew to become a rallying cry for reform after a viral video of Ms. Johnson talking from jail caught the eye of Ms. Kardashian.
Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was then a presidential adviser, organized a gathering between Ms. Kardashian and Mr. Trump in Could 2018 — on Ms. Johnson’s 63rd birthday — and Ms. Kardashian pleaded her case.
Mr. Trump commuted Ms. Johnson’s sentence one week later, releasing her from jail. He then issued a full pardon throughout his 2020 re-election marketing campaign, which wiped the conviction from her document.
Mr. Trump’s determination confronted opposition inside his administration and amongst some allies.
Ms. Johnson had been locked up in an Alabama federal jail since 1996 after being sentenced to life plus 25 years in jail as a first-time, nonviolent offender. She had been charged with cocaine possession and cash laundering in a drug conspiracy case.
A single mom of 5 in Memphis, she had a historical past of playing, unemployment, chapter and foreclosures earlier than turning into concerned in a drug ring. She was arrested in 1993 as a part of an operation that transported cocaine from Houston to Memphis, relaying coded messages between conspirators.
She additionally bought a home with a down fee that she structured with three separate cash orders beneath the $10,000 reporting restrict. Underneath obligatory sentencing guidelines, she was given a life time period with out parole, although she had by no means offered medicine. A number of co-defendants who testified in opposition to her have been sentenced to probation or phrases of as much as 10 years.
Ms. Johnson had served twenty years of the sentence, throughout which she grew to become a grandmother and great-grandmother, took academic and vocational applications, volunteered to assist sick and dying prisoners, and helped coordinate the jail’s Particular Olympics.
Mr. Trump cited Ms. Johnson’s case, amongst others, on the signing ceremony for the First Step Act.
“Alice Johnson — I let her out. She was in jail for 22 years. She had one other 28 years. And the crime was, let’s say — I feel most of you’d agree — was unfit of a 50-year time period in jail,” he stated.
“And she or he got here out, and I’ll always remember the look on her face,” Mr. Trump stated, occurring to explain watching her be embraced by her household. “I stated, what a stupendous factor that’s.”
First Step was probably the most consequential legal justice reform payments in a long time. It mixed new funding for anti-recidivism applications, the growth of early-release credit for prisoners and the discount of sure obligatory minimal sentences. The invoice would assist form the experiences of tens of 1000’s of present inmates and future offenders. Hundreds have been launched from federal custody after its passage.
In a November 2024 tv interview, Ms. Johnson stated that after her launch she personally submitted over 100 petitions to the White Home after Mr. Trump requested her to compile a listing of individuals she believed deserved clemency.
“I’m so blessed to be free myself,” she stated. “The work continues. I can’t assist however advocate for people who find themselves incarcerated, as a result of I’m actually one in every of them. I’m only a free one in every of them.”
