For 62-year-old Alice Marie Johnson, God has indeed restored her faith. The Great Grandmother was incarcerated in October 1996 for a first-time nonviolent drug offence for facilitating communications in a drug trafficking case.
However, since the show of interest in her case by TV Reality star Kim Kardashian West, Ms Johnson has been speaking about her new found home to a free person again. In parts of a personal essay published on CNN, Johnson opened up about what Mrs West’s help has meant to her, including the spotlight that has been placed on her case.
“Some refer to prison as a place where hope dies. Some days I’ve found that to be almost right,” Johnson writes. “Each time that I’ve come close [to giving up], God has restored my faith.”
“So when the unlikely voices of Kim Kardashian West and Jared Kushner came together to shine a spotlight on my case, I could only thank God, for he works in mysterious ways,” she also added.
Kim first learned of Ms Johnson’s from a previous Mic video published in October. At that time, She retweeted the clip and commented saying: “This is so unfair.”
This is so unfair… https://t.co/W3lPINbQuy
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 26, 2017
Since then, she had made efforts to reach out to US President, Donald Trump through his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is also an official of Trump’s administration. Reports suggest that while talks have been on for months, the intensity has significantly increased in recent days and chances are there that Johnson may be free to celebrate the mother’s day with her family.
She writes. “What if this could be my chance to be reunited with the outside world, to see my family or what is left of it?” Johnson also says she found strength in a Whitney Houston song, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,” and the lyric, “I was not built to break.”
Since her prison sentence, Johnson has become an ordained minister and a mentor to young women in prison. Her goal once released is to continue her work in helping those who are still in prison.
“I want this part to be clear: I acknowledge that I have done wrong. I made the biggest mistake of my life to make ends meet and got involved with people selling drugs,” she writes, describing her divorce and the tragedy of losing one of her son’s as catalysts that pushed her into making the wrong choices.
“Trump has the power to give me a second chance,” Johnson continues. “He truly has the power to change our justice system for the better. I can only continue to be steadfast and hope that he hears me.”
Johnson thanked Kardashian West for her efforts in a November letter, according to TMZ, writing: “Ms. Kardashian you are literally helping to save my life and restore me to my family. I was drowning and you have thrown me a life jacket and given me hope.”