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TWENTY-ONE YEARS ago, Alice Marie Johnson was sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole after she was jailed for her first ever offence – a nonviolent drug crime.

In 1993, just after a divorce, Alice lost her job where she had worked as a manager at Fed Ex for ten years. She had no way to look after her family, and said she “made one of the worst decisions of her life to make some money quickly” by becoming involved in drugs and money laundering.

Alice, who has missed the birth of some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren while incarcerated, expected to eventually die in prison. Both of her parents died while she was in prison, and she missed out on the opportunity to be by their sides to say goodbye.

Alice Marie Johnson’s case began to get a lot of attention on social media, after a video by Mic went viral and caught Kim Kardashian’s attention.

Kim told Mic that she was willing to do “whatever it takes” to get this woman out of prison, after she learned that Alice was fully eligible for clemency, but had not had her sentence commuted under Obama’s presidency.

Clemency can only be granted by the President of the United States, and it will not erase Alice’s conviction, but it will end her prison sentence.

Alice had not been given a reason why she was denied clemency, despite the fact that she had 100% clear conduct for her entire 21 years in prison, while serving time as a first-time nonviolent offender. In prison she wrote many plays, and prison staff would often publicly praise her accomplishments while incarcerated.

Kim Kardashian was moved by Alice Marie Johnson’s situation and wanted to help.

When I see a story like hers, and I go back to maybe decisions we’ve all made – maybe not of that caliber – but if you think about a decision you’ve made you made in your life and you get life without the possibility of parole for your  first time nonviolent offence… There’s just something SO wrong with that.

Kim Kardashian met with Donald Trump last week, to discuss prison reform.

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The 37-year-old  reality TV star has been concerned about over-incarceration for some time now. So, she had her personal attorney, Shawn Chapman, work on Alice Marie Johnson’s case.

A few months back, Kim said:

We’re on a mission now. We want to do anything we can to get her story out there. She has spent two decades behind bars. I think that she really deserves a second chance at life.

Kim took it a step further and then used her influence to get Alice’s story to the President and he decided on Wednesday that Alice’s sentence would be commuted. Within hours of the White House announcement, Alice was free. She walked out of prison and into the arms of her family.  Johnson told WVTM-13:

I’m just so thankful. I feel like my life is starting over again.

She called Kim Kardashian an “angel”, and thanked Donald Trump for giving her “another chance at life” and restoring her to her family.

On Twitter, Kim Kardashian shared how happy she was to hear that Alice was free.

Kim thanked Donald Trump and Jared Kushner for “showing compassion” and thanked everyone who “contributed countless hours” to achieving Alice’s emancipation.

Kim said that she hopes to continue doing work like this and helping the organizations who have been “fighting this fight” much longer than she has.

In another tweet, Kim spoke about how this is one of the most important things she has ever done.

The phone call I just had with Alice will forever be one of my best memories. Telling her for the first time and hearing her screams while crying together is a moment I will never forget.

She also shared the video that brought the entire situation to her attention.

If the video won’t play, click here.

If ever there was a time to get a bit of use out of this Kim Kardashian meme:

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