US President Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence today of a 63-year-old woman whose release had been championed by reality TV star Kim Kardashian. Alice Marie Johnson, 63, had served nearly 22 years of a life sentence for a non-violent drug offense. Kardashian, the wife of rapper Kanye West, met with Trump at the White House last week to appeal for the release of the great-grandmother convicted of cocaine trafficking.
The White House said in a statement that Trump had commuted Johnson's sentence and that she "has accepted responsibility for her past behavior" and been a "model prisoner." "Despite receiving a life sentence, Alice worked hard to rehabilitate herself in prison, and act as a mentor to her fellow inmates," the White House said. "While this Administration will always be very tough on crime, it believes that those who have paid their debt to society and worked hard to better themselves while in prison deserve a second chance," it said.
Kardashian welcomed the commutation of Johnson's sentence with a tweet saying it was the "BEST NEWS EVER!!!!" Following his meeting with Kardashian last week, Trump tweeted: "Great meeting with @KimKardashian today, talked about prison reform and sentencing." Kanye West recently raised eyebrows after tweeting about his "love" for Trump and describing him as a "brother" with whom he shared "dragon energy." Fixing tough sentencing laws had been a priority of former president Barack Obama's administration, but he failed to win congressional support, prompting a stream of presidential pardons and clemency actions. PTI
