Kim Kardashian has discussed with President Donald Trump a potential pardon for Alice Marie Johnson, a great-grandmother who is serving life in prison.
Alice Marie Johnson, 63, has been behind bars for more than two decades for a first-time drug offence.
President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has also been speaking with Kim Kardashian West about the case for months.
The president tweeted that they had a “great meeting”.
Alice Marie Johnson’s story first caught Kim Kardashian’s eye after she saw a short video about the case posted on social media.
Kim Kardashian was moved to ask her longtime personal lawyer, Shawn Holley, to take a look at the case and is paying for a new legal team for Alice Marie Johnson.
She was also able to join forces with Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to President Trump who has been pushing for federal prison reform.
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Jared Kushner’s First Step Act, which allots $50 million for rehabilitative programs for inmates, in the House of Representatives last week.
According to Alice Marie Johnson’s daughters, the process has sped up considerably since Kim Kardashian’s involvement.
On the meeting with President Trump, Kim Kardashian said she was hopeful Johnson would get a “second chance at life”.
Alice Marie Johnson was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 for a first-time, non-violent drug offence. The woman was convicted of being a “telephone mule”, relaying messages between drug distributors and sellers.
According to her family and supporters, Alice Marie Johnson has been a model inmate who is active in many programs, including work in the prison hospice. She fitted all of the criteria for former President Barack Obama’s Clemency Project 2014, but was denied just days before the end of his term.
Despite that, Kim Kardashian’s interest appears to have revitalized the effort.
Amy Povah, the founder of CAN-DO Clemency, has been advocating for Alice Marie Johnson’s release since 2014 and says she has helped collect signatures from 70 organizations who support the pardon, as well as a letter of support from the retired warden of Johnson’s prison.
All of that material may be submitted to President Trump.
