Kim Kardashian Celebrates President Trump's Commutation of Alice Johnson
President Donald Trump commuted the sentence Wednesday of a 63-year-old woman serving a life sentence for drug offenses.
Alice Marie Johnson has spent the last two decades behind bars and is not eligible for parole.
The decision came after reality TV star Kim Kardashian West paid a visit to the White House.
The commutation, which is different than a pardon, puts a renewed focus on the Trump administration's push for prison and sentencing reform.
Johnson was convicted in 1996 on eight criminal counts related to a Memphis-based cocaine trafficking operation involving more than a dozen people.
The 1994 indictment describes dozens of deliveries and drug transactions, many involving Johnson.
She was sentenced to life in prison in 1997, and appellate judges and the US Supreme Court have rejected her appeals.
Kardashian West visited the White House in May to meet with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, who is overseeing the administration's push to overhaul the nation's prison system.
She also met with Trump in the Oval Office, a photograph of which the president released on Twitter.
So grateful to @realDonaldTrump, Jared Kushner & to everyone who has showed compassion & contributed countless hours to this important moment for Ms. Alice Marie Johnson. Her commutation is inspirational & gives hope to so many others who are also deserving of a second chance.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 6, 2018
"I think that she really deserves a second chance at life," Kardashian told news reporters. "I'll do whatever it takes to get her out."
She celebrated the good news on Wednesday, tweeting a link about the pardon and writing: "BEST NEWS EVER!!!" alongside three praying hand emojis.
