President Commutes Life-Without-Parole Sentence of Alice Marie Johnson

Mother of Five Was Imprisoned in 1996 for a Nonviolent Drug Offense Without the Possibility of Parole

June 6, 2018 12:30 pm

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WASHINGTON 鈥 President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, 63, who has been serving life without parole for a nonviolent drug offense since 1996. Attorneys Jennifer Turner from the 老澳门开奖结果, Brittany Barnett from the Buried Alive Project, and Shawn Holley from Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert represented Johnson in her application for clemency. The 老澳门开奖结果 featured Johnson in its 2013 report 鈥A Living Death: Life Without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses.鈥

鈥淎lice Marie Johnson was convicted of a nonviolent drug offense in 1996 and received a sentence far too severe for the crime: life without the possibility of parole. Alice has become a grandmother and a great-grandmother while behind bars, and she has talked to me about the pain of being kept from her family with no hope of ever rejoining their lives. I鈥檓 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鈥檚 behalf,鈥 said Jennifer Turner of the 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淚 urge the president to do the same for other federal prisoners serving extreme sentences that don鈥檛 match the offenses, while reforming our draconian sentencing laws that produce these senseless punishments.鈥

鈥淚t鈥檚 like an un-executed sentence of death,鈥 said Ms. Johnson in an interview with . 鈥淸My family] told me that coming to visit me in prison is like visiting a gravesite. They said that they could see the place where my body lay, but they can never take me home again.鈥

鈥淭his country鈥檚 addiction to mass incarceration has devastated millions of families like Alice鈥檚, with emotional and economic consequences that can last generations,鈥 said Turner.

Johnson was sentenced to mandatory life without parole, plus 25 years, for involvement in a conspiracy to sell cocaine. It was her first arrest. While in prison, she has taken numerous educational and vocational training courses. Johnson has volunteered as a tutor for prisoners working toward their GEDs and in the prison鈥檚 hospice program. She has held jobs with the prison鈥檚 business office, hospital, chapel, and food service administration.

As of January 2018, 1,545 people in federal prisons are serving life without parole for drug offenses, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

For 鈥淎 Living Death: Life Without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses,鈥 visit:
/report/living-death-life-without-parole-nonviolent-offenses

For information about the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Smart Justice campaign to end mass incarceration:
/issues/mass-incarceration/smart-justice/campaign-smart-justice

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