Trump appointee Alice Marie Johnson seeks second chances for non-violent offenders

Alice Marie Johnson has gone from prison to the White House, where she’s leading the charge as President Donald Trump’s pardon czar, and she can hardly believe the transformation.

The former Trump pardonee now works with the president’s administration to bring hope to those still trapped in a broken system. 

Speaking to “My View” host Lara Trump, she laid out her vision for the role — finding non-violent offenders who deserve a second chance, who have paid their dues to society and who have been victims of lawfare.

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“There are laws that have to be changed because, even in my position, I’m not going to be able to find everyone,” she said. 

“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.”

“We now know it’s not about how much money you have. If you have a corrupt system in place, there is no one safe,” she added.

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A series of unfortunate events, including her son’s death, financial troubles and a divorce, led to Johnson’s involvement with cocaine dealers in the 1990s in Memphis, Tennessee. While she claims she never “touched, saw or sold a single drug,” she admitted to assisting in communications. 

Johnson was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, a sentence she was “absolutely not” prepared for, nor did she think it was “warranted,” but she’s thankful her situation caught President Trump’s attention.

Trump commuted her life sentence in 2018 after she served 21 years in an Alabama prison but eventually gave her a full pardon in 2020.

The president appointed her to the pardon czar position earlier this year, tasking her with identifying the best pardon candidates and assessing their readiness to reintegrate into their communities.

“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…” she said. “…It’s really easy for me because I’ve lived it, so the president has entrusted me with this mission.”