WASHINGTON — President Trump commuted the sentence on Wednesday of a 63-year-old woman serving life in prison for a nonviolent drug conviction after her case was brought to his attention by reality television star Kim Kardashian West.
Although short of a full pardon, the decision will free Alice Marie Johnson, who has been locked up in federal prison in Alabama since 1996 on charges related to cocaine distribution and money laundering. Kardashian West, who learned of the case through a video that went viral on social media, visited Trump at the White House last week to lobby on Johnson’s behalf.
“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,’’ the White House said in a statement announcing the commutation.
Kardashian West celebrated the decision on Twitter. “BEST NEWS EVER!!!!’’ she wrote.
In an e-mailed statement, she thanked Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for showing mercy to Johnson. “Her commutation and forthcoming release is inspirational and gives hope to so many others who are also deserving of a second chance,’’ Kardashian West said.
The president’s intervention was contrary to the policies his own Justice Department has enacted since he took office. Attorney General Jeff Sessions last year ordered federal prosecutors to pursue the toughest possible charges and sentences against criminal defendants, reversing President Obama’s efforts to ease penalties in nonviolent drug cases.
The arguments advanced on Johnson’s behalf were essentially the same made for thousands of other nonviolent drug convicts whose petitions for presidential clemency have been languishing at the Justice Department. While Obama pardoned 212 people and commuted the sentences of 1,715 prisoners, including 568 serving life sentences, Trump has acted mainly on a few high-profile cases brought to him by associates and allies.
“I’m grateful to the president for allowing Alice to go home after 21.5 years in prison and to Kim Kardashian for her advocacy on Alice’s behalf,’’ said Jennifer Turner, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, which has championed Johnson’s case. “I urge the president to do the same for other federal prisoners serving extreme sentences that don’t match the offenses, while reforming our draconian sentencing laws that produce these senseless punishments.’’
While in prison, where she became a grandmother and great-grandmother, Johnson took educational and vocational programs, volunteered to help sick and dying prisoners, and helped coordinate the prison’s Special Olympics.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the president’s decision.
Trump last week pardoned Dinesh D’Souza, a prominent conservative author and filmmaker convicted of campaign finance violations, and suggested that he might use his clemency power on behalf of former governor Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois and Martha Stewart, the lifestyle guru.
