Alice Marie Johnson, who went from being behind bars to onstage at the Republican National Convention, thanked President Trump for his help in her journey to freedom.
“I was once told that the only way I would ever be reunited with my family would be as a corpse,” Johnson said on Thursday. “But by the grace of God and the compassion by Donald John Trump, I stand before you tonight, and I assure you, I am not a ghost. I am alive, I am well, and, most importantly, I am free.”
Johnson began serving time in prison in 1996 for being involved in a nonviolent drug conspiracy. She was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years despite it being her first offense.
Johnson was in prison for 22 years until Trump commuted her sentence in 2018. She became an advocate of criminal justice reform and helped inspire the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill signed into law in 2018.
“Six months after President Trump granted me a second chance, he signed the First Step Act into law,” Johnson said. “It was real justice reform. And it brought joy, hope, and freedom to thousands of well-deserving people.”
Johnson added she continues to work toward justice for people and felt her commutation was destiny to do what she can to help inspire individuals moving forward.
“The nearly 22 years I spent in prison were not wasted,” she said. “God had a purpose and a plan for my life. I was not delayed or denied, I was destined for such a time as this.”
