As predicted, President Trump named Alice Johnson, whose life sentence he commuted during his first term, as his “pardon czar” to advise him on criminal justice issues. Trump announced Johnson’s appointment during a reception celebrating Black History Month at the White House, which she attended. Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star, helped bring attention to her drug conviction during Trump’s first term. Johnson will formalize a role that she took on at the end of Trump’s first term, submitting a list of people who she believed deserved clemency. Trump said Johnson would be advising him on cases of people convicted of nonviolent crimes who had gotten sentences not likely be handed down today. Johnson’s case was seen as an example of draconian sentencing laws that disproportionately affected nonviolent offenders, particularly women and members of minority groups, the New York Times reports.
“You know, Alice was in prison for doing something that today probably wouldn’t even be prosecuted,” Mr. Trump said during remarks to about 400 people during the event. “She spent 22 years in prison — 22 years. She had another 22 years left. Can you believe it?” Johnson’s case became a rallying cry for reform after a viral video of her speaking from prison caught the attention of Kardashian. In 2018, Kardashian personally pleaded Johnson’s case to Trump in the Oval Office. Johnson had been in an Alabama federal prison since 1996 after being sentenced to life plus 25 years in prison as a first-time, nonviolent offender. She had been convicted of cocaine possession and money laundering in a drug conspiracy case. Johnson was an integral part of Trump's embracing the First Step Act to reform federal sentencing and corrections practices.
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