The first time Alice Marie Johnson entered the Federal Corrections Institute in Aliceville, AL years ago, she recalls the shackles around her wrists, waist and ankles. She was serving a life sentence for a first-time, nonviolent drug offense.
But, as Johnson approached the same building last week, this time she was wearing an elegant purple pantsuit and a free woman. Still, some things were hard to shake.
“When the iron door closed behind me, and I heard the sound, for just a moment, I jumped,” Johnson says. “Then that calmness came back over me.”
Johnson garnered national attention in 2018 when former President Donald Trump granted her clemency at the urging of TV personality Kim Kardashian. She had served more than two decades in prison for her connection to a drug trafficking operation in Memphis when she was given a fresh start.
She was invited back to Aliceville recently as a testament to second chances. She addressed graduates there who were part of a prison self-development program.
Her message to them was one that helped her through incarceration.
“Don’t be robbed of the present. Continue to live life because you’re still a family member, you’re still a mother – a mama – you cannot take that away from a woman,” she says. “You’re still a sister. You still have friends out there.”
Over the last five years, Johnson – who at 68 is a great grandmother and now lives in Olive Branch, Miss. – has grown accustomed to reminding people of the humanity inside prison walls and the consequences of lengthy prison sentences.
Kardashian’s involvement in her clemency case helped Johnson gain a prominent platform to push for criminal justice reform and second chances for others.
Her recent trip back to prison was emotional, particularly leaving she says, which was an acute reminder of all she’s gained and those left behind.
“I kept my head up, my smile on my face. But my lips were trembling because I was so hurt to be leaving them, wondering when I’d ever see them again,” she says.
It’s reinforced her resolve. She counts her advocacy for the First Step Act among her many successes since being released. The bipartisan measure, passed in 2018, aims to improve prison conditions and revamp standards for sentencing.
As she looks at the next five years, she says she wants to continue advocating for a system more dedicated to rehabilitation, but also one that people don’t get caught up in the first place.
Johnson says public opinion can sway on criminal justice reform at times when crime rises. But, she firmly believes it’s a bipartisan issue that’s better addressed by focusing on the causes that lead people towards a path of crime rather than taking a more punitive approach.
“When we hear tough on crime, what does that really mean? Does it mean tough on families? Does it mean tough on communities?,” she says. “If we’re not getting in there and trying to help solve the problems, that’s just talk really.”
