Pardon Czar Alice Marie Johnson: How the White House is Restoring Lives Through Second Chances

Alice Marie Johnson, who was named the nation’s first pardon czar a year ago, said on Thursday that the White House’s pardon effort centers on giving Americans who have been sentenced to prison for crimes the opportunity to rebuild their lives.

“We’re about restoring lives; we’re about second chances,” she said. “We’re about redemption and belief in people.”

Johnson, a former federal prisoner who served over 20 years for a nonviolent drug offense, received clemency from President Donald Trump in 2018 and a full pardon in 2020. In her role, she leads efforts to identify, review, and recommend individuals for presidential commutations and pardons.

Johnson said the administration is paying special attention to cases involving people who served lengthy sentences under the 1994 crime bill, which she said contributed to breaking apart families. “We really look closely at those individuals because at that time there was a war,” she explained. “They said that there was a war on drugs, but it was more a war on families because young men, young women were put in prison for life sentences.”

Today, those people would not receive a life sentence, she added, so “the president is truly righting those wrongs.” Johnson stated that pardon petitions are thoroughly vetted and reviewed before they reach the president. “No petition is ever presented to President Trump unless it has been carefully vetted by White House legal counsel,” she said.

Johnson noted her office receives applications through the Justice Department and also directly at the White House, working with attorneys involved in the process. “We make sure that no new crimes have been committed [and] that they don’t pose a safety risk to the community,” she added. She said Trump also considers people who have already been out of prison for years and have demonstrated rehabilitation.

Johnson connected the mission to her own experience, saying she has made it a priority not to forget people still incarcerated. “I’m so honored to be in this position because I’ve been through this myself, and I’ve gotten that second chance,” she said. “So I made a promise that I would never forget the people who I left behind.”

“And I have been fulfilling that promise. And there is so much more to come.”

Johnson also pointed to recent pardons for five former NFL players, saying felony records can block people from moving forward even after they have served their time. “We looked at what these former NFL players have done with their lives since they were set free,” she said. “Sometimes people think that because you’re a former NFL player that you’ve got all of this money, but there are charges — those felonies — on their records.”

“For some of them, it just ruined their lives, and they could not move forward.” Johnson called the pardons “an act of mercy” and said the effort was handled quietly. “No one knew that we were working on these pardons because it wasn’t a stunt,” she explained. “This was an opportunity to restore the lives of these players.”

When asked about accusations that Trump is racist, Johnson said his record with Black Americans counters that narrative. “If you look back at President Trump’s history, his history with the Black community, and how much he has supported the Black community, his record would negate all of those charges,” she stated. “This president has embraced us.”