Remember when the New York Post made fun of Kim Kardashian West for meeting with President Trump last week? Well, it looks like that meeting just changed someone's life forever.
Trump commuted the sentence of 63-year-old great-grandmother Alice Marie Johnson on Wednesday afternoon.
Johnson has served 21 years in prison since she was sentenced to life in jail after her involvement in a cocaine trafficking operation. The first-time, non-violent offender was brought to Trump's attention by Kardashian, an advocate of criminal justice reform.
BEST NEWS EVER!!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 https://t.co/JUbpbE1Bk0
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 6, 2018
Kardashian first reached out to Ivanka Trump, who got her in contact with her husband, Jared Kushner, a senior advisor to the president who too has been advocating for criminal justice reform.
So grateful to @realDonaldTrump, Jared Kushner & to everyone who has showed compassion & contributed countless hours to this important moment for Ms. Alice Marie Johnson. Her commutation is inspirational & gives hope to so many others who are also deserving of a second chance.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 6, 2018
"Ms. Johnson has accepted responsibility for her past behavior and has been a model prisoner over the past two decades. Despite receiving a life sentence, Alice worked hard to rehabilitate herself in prison, and act as a mentor to her fellow inmates," the White House stated Wednesday.
While flirting with certain aspects of criminal justice reform, the White House also made sure to emphasize their tough-on-crime mentality.
"While this Administration will always be very tough on crime, it believes that those who have paid their debt to society and worked hard to better themselves while in prison deserve a second chance."
Does this move signal a shift in the president's approach to criminal justice? Only time will tell.