Trump Pardons Drug Offender Alice Johnson After Meeting With Kim Kardashian West

President Donald Trump has commuted the life sentence of Alice Johnson, a nonviolent drug offender, whom Kim Kardashian West advocated for at the White House last week.

White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, who has pushed for Johnson’s pardon, had been in contact with Kardashian for the past several months regarding the matter, according to Axios. This is part of Kushner’s broader effort to highlight prison reform, particularly for nonviolent offenders.

Johnson’s pardon is the latest in a string of pardons issued by Trump in the past 17 months, and according to CNN he is getting the paperwork ready for “dozens” more. Trump had just pardoned conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, and indicated that Martha Stewart and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich could be next. He has also claimed to have the ability to pardon himself.

Johnson, 63, was convicted in 1996 for her role in facilitating communications in a cocaine trafficking operation in Tennessee. She had said she turned to drug trafficking after being put in a desperate situation – she had lost her job, her son died and she and her husband divorced. Johnson was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Kardashian had advocated for Johnson’s clemency after watching a prison video published by online outlet Mic. She celebrated the news on Twitter.

Article by Kaitlyn Martin