Trump names Alice Marie Johnson, whose sentence he commuted in 2018, as 'pardon czar'

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he has appointed Alice Marie Johnson, whose sentence he commuted in his first term, as his official "pardon czar."

Johnson was sentenced to life in prison in the 1990s after being convicted of nonviolent drug crimes. She served 21 years in prison before her sentence was commuted by Trump in 2018. 

The pardon came after Johnson devoted her time behind bars to working in the prison hospice, volunteered in the prison church, became an ordained minister and started writing and directing plays, according to Fox News. 

Trump said during a Black History Month event at the White House that Johnson was an "inspiration," and she will now help decide who gets clemency in his new administration. 

“You’ve been an inspiration to people, and we’re going to be listening to your recommendations on pardons,” Trump told Johnson, according The Hill newspaper . "You’re going to go over and you’re going to be — she’s going to be my pardon czar. And you’re going to find people just like you that this should not have happened [to].”

The announcement comes after Trump and former President Joe Biden made controversial clemency decisions. Trump pardoned all January 6 2021, rioters last month to the ire of many Democrats, and Biden gave blanket pardons to his son Hunter Biden and other key allies before he left office.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.