Alice Marie Johnson, whose life sentence was commuted by President Trump, said Thursday she appreciated the mercy he showed her and she plans to make the best of her second chance at life.
Mr. Trump commuted her sentence after speaking with celebrity Kim Kardashian, who pressed the president to evaluate Johnson’s case, arguing she had been a model prisoner and didn’t deserve to be behind bars for life.
Johnson was convicted of conspiracy to possess cocaine and was given a life sentence. She had already served more than 20 years in prison for her crime before being released Wednesday after Mr. Trump commuted her sentence.
The president tweeted Thursday morning, telling Johnson “Good luck” and to “Have a wonderful life!”
“President Trump made me having a wonderful life possible. I’m just so thankful to him. I’m just amazed to hear I’m actually one of his tweets. I love it,” Johnson said on CNN.
She has not spoken to the president personally, but said if she could, she would tell him thank you for seeing her — not just the data about her crime.
Johnson said she would work to advocate for prison reform and she already had a job lined up after being released from prison less than 24 hours ago.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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