The moment of emotion in which Donald Trump introduced Alice Johnson, the woman sentenced to life imprisonment and pardoned

During his speech on the state of the Union, Donald Trump told the story of Alice Johnson, who was sentenced to 21 years in prison for committing a non-violent drug crime.

"Last year, I heard Alice Johnson's story and I was very touched." In 1997, Alice was sentenced to life imprisonment for a first non-violent drug offense. Minister and inspiring others to choose a better way, Alice's story highlights the disparities and injustice that may exist in a criminal conviction, as well as the need to remedy this injustice ", said the US president.

Johnson, without a history or acts of violence, could not access parole benefits because it was a federal crime. In the current legal framework, without Trump's forgiveness, he could never have been released from prison.

Johnson was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996 for drug and money-laundering crimes because of his involvement in a multi-million dollar cocaine trafficking ring.

Johnson's request for pardon was based on the fact that it was his first crimes. He had committed them at a time of economic difficulty and if today he was tried for the same crimes, the sentence would be less severe.

In June 2018, Trump commuted his sentence to life imprisonment, a week after businesswoman Kim Kardashian visited him at the White House and asked for the pardon of this prison.