(IntegrityPress.org) – Behind the backdrop of what many talking heads are claiming is the imminence of a potential third world war, readers may appreciate a less-kinetic and life-affirming story about personal redemption. Its subject, who was granted clemency by former President Donald Trump, recently chose to visit the last prison she was confined to for the first time since her 2018 release.
Alice Marie Johnson’s trip back to her former home in a federal penitentiary in Alabama was covered by local media and subsequently picked up on by the national variety. In 1996, despite having an arrest-free criminal record, Johnson was handed a life sentence for her role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy that was based in Memphis.
The nature of her charges precluded the mother and grandmother from ever being eligible for parole. In what she says was a moment of desperation, she fell to her knees after first being placed in her federal cell and pleaded with the God of the universe to give her life purpose.
The inmate said she was faced with either “being” perpetually “bitter” or choosing to “live life.” Johnson chose the latter and turned her “time in prison” into “a mission.” The one-time narcotics distributor spoke out against the apparent excesses of the criminal justice system and also sought to help other inmates from troubled backgrounds.
After Johnson had been incarcerated for around 15 years, her story was encountered by famed Hollywood socialite Kim Kardashian. Outside of her reality show, the daughter of legendary attorney Robert Kardashian had become an active critic of America’s prison industrial complex.
Her lifelong friendship with Ivanka Trump yielded the Keeping Up star a meeting with former President Trump, who agreed that Johnon was deserving of a commutation. The Commander-in-Chief followed through on Kardashian’s advocacy and granted her subject clemency in 2018, nearly 22 years after she had first been locked up.
Johnson continues to advocate nationwide for sentencing reforms.
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