Trump sets inmate free after urging by celebrity

WASHINGTON — Flexing his clemency powers once again, President Donald Trump on Wednesday commuted the life sentence of a woman whose cause was championed by reality TV star Kim Kardashian West.

“BEST NEWS EVER!!!!” was the exuberant Twitter response from Kardashian West, who visited the White House last week to press the case.

Alice Marie Johnson, 63, had spent more than two decades behind bars, serving life without parole for drug offenses. She was released hours later and ran into her family members’ arms.

Michael Scholl, a member of Johnson’s legal team, said she was released just before 6 p.m. from federal prison in Aliceville, Alabama. Relatives were there to greet her as she experienced freedom for the first time since the 1990s.

Footage from local news station WVTM-13 showed Johnson running toward her family, throwing her arms wide-open and embracing them in front of a crowd of onlookers.

“Everybody was crying and hugging,” Scholl said.

Unlike a pardon, the commutation will not erase Johnson’s conviction, only end her sentence.

Scholl said Johnson would return to Memphis and plans to spend time with her family. He described Johnson as overwhelmed by the news.

Trump’s decision, his latest inspired by a celebrity champion, comes amid a flurry of recent pardons issued by the president. He says he’s considering a long list of other clemency actions for those famous and not, including former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart.

In a statement announcing the president’s decision, the White House said Johnson “has accepted responsibility for her past behavior” and has been a model prisoner, working hard to rehabilitate herself and serve as a mentor to fellow inmates.