Trump tweets message to Alice Marie Johnson after Kim Kardashian convinces him to commute prison sentence
Yesterday, President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson.
The 63-year old grandmother has already served 21 years of a life sentence after being convicted on charges of conspiracy to possess cocaine and attempted possession of cocaine. Johnson, a first-time non-violent drug offender. a week after Kim Kardashian pleaded her case with Trump.
Johnson got mixed up in drug trafficking following a particularly rough period in her life. She lost her job at FedEx where she had worked for 10 years (due to a gambling addiction), got divorced, and then her youngest son died in a motorcycle accident.
This traumatic series of events is what led her to become involved with drugs.
As she told Mic: “I felt like a failure… I went into a complete panic and out of desperation, I made one of the worst decisions of my life to make some quick money. I became involved in a drug conspiracy.”
She learned Wednesday that her mandatory life sentence plus 25 years was being commuted by Trump in a phone call from Kardashian.
“When Kim told me that I was being released, I started jumping up and screaming and crying and everyone else was crying,” Johnson recalled. “It was wonderful. I’m so glad that she was the one who was able to deliver the news to me. It was a perfect ending.”
And yesterday Alice Marie Johnson ran out of the gates of the Alabama prison into the arms of her family.
Cameras caught her say, “I’m free to hug my family. I’m free to start over.”
When Alice Marie Johnson spoke with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America today she had a message for President Trump.
“I’d like to tell President Trump that I’m so grateful for everything you did for me and my family. Please remember the others who have been left behind who need to have an opportunity that I’ve had.”
And now Trump has responded with a simple tweet.
Good luck to Alice Johnson. Have a wonderful life!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2018
When Strahan asked her about her plans for the future she replied: “I plan on continue to work hard to use my case as an example for prison reform and sentencing reform to make a difference. When you see my face, you see so many other faces that I represent. This is not the end for me.”
