A woman who was denied pardon by former President Barack Obama multiple times, has a second chance on life and a new position in the Trump administration.
Alice Marie Johnson, a 69-year-old grandmother who was serving a life sentence for non-violent drug charges but her sentence was commuted by by President Trump in 2018, has been appointed the Pardon Czar by Trump.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve as Pardon Czar and for the trust placed in me to help those impacted by our criminal justice system. This role is a chance to offer second chances and restore hope to individuals who have paid their debt to society. I am thankful… pic.twitter.com/Q0b9NrtXpu
— Alice Marie Johnson (@AliceMarieFree) February 21, 2025
In 1996, Johnson faced a whirlwind of financial trouble, her son’s death, and a divorce led her to become involved with cocaine dealers in Memphis.
She didn’t sell drugs. But she passed messages and money among them. She was arrested when the drug ring was apprehended and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
In 2018, Trump commuted her sentence, and in 2020, she received a full pardon.
She appeared with Lara Trump on her Fox News Channel show, “My View,” over the weekend where she talked about what she would like to do in her new role.
The main focus for Johnson will be to identify those who are best qualified to receive pardons and assess their readiness to rejoin society.
She said, “It’s just incredible to me that my life would take a full-circle journey. Seven years ago, I was sitting in a prison cell,” said Johnson.
“It’s really easy for me because I’ve lived it, so the president has entrusted me with this mission, to help and find those people who deserve a second chance, who are similarly situated. Not just like me, but who have served enough time, who have paid their debt to society. Plus, there are those who have been, I’m going to say, victims of lawfare, the same way our President was,” added Johnson.
In addition to finding those people who deserve a second chance, Johnson wants part of her job to be to push for possibly outdated and antiquated laws that need to be changed. She also pointed out the fact that many people who don’t have the money to navigate through the justice system are often caught in it.
“There are laws that have to be changed because, even in my position, I’m not going to be able to find everyone. I am going to find as many as I possibly can find, but I’m also going to be advocating [for change] and looking at the things that are out there, on the books, that need to be changed, but to also do what the president has entrusted me to do, and let’s find those individuals who need their second chance, those individuals who had lost hope in a system that was totally corrupt,” said Johnson of her efforts.