Overview

• Alice Johnson, whose life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense was commuted by Donald Trump in 2018, has been named the administration's 'pardon czar.'
• Johnson will recommend clemency cases to the president, particularly for individuals serving disproportionately long sentences for nonviolent crimes.
• Her appointment formalizes a role she informally took on during Trump's first term, when she helped advocate for criminal justice reform and clemency cases.
• The position highlights Trump's direct approach to clemency, bypassing traditional processes typically handled by the Office of the Pardon Attorney.
• Johnson's case, brought to Trump's attention by Kim Kardashian, became a symbol of sentencing reform and inspired the bipartisan First Step Act during Trump's first term.