FREE WOMAN: Let's hope the Alice Johnson case will lead to substantive prison reforms

June 07, 2018

Carles Rabada/Unsplash

CEO/Founder

Are we having the adult conversation that we need to have when it comes to President Trump's pardons, his commuting sentences, and about prison reform altogether? I'm not so sure.

Yesterday, President Trump commuted the prison sentence of Alice Johnson, a 63-year-old woman from Tennessee. Since 1996, Johnson has been serving a life sentence in federal prison for drug possession and money laundering. She is now a free woman.

RELATED: The 'Kim Summit' finally happened, just not the one you were thinking of

The president's move is getting bi-partisan cheers, though the Left doesn't want to get too carried away, after all, it's still President Trump. He's not really capable of taking any action the Left would actually agree with, right?

Alice Johnson is the reason that Kim Kardashian visited the White House last week to speak with the President. Kardashian apparently saw a video about Alice Johnson's case last year on Twitter, and ended up putting together a legal team to work on Johnson's case. Kardashian eventually reached out to Jared Kushner, who helped arrange the White House meeting.

Okay, here's the deal. This seems like it might be a positive move by President Trump. And, yes, we need prison reform. I'm all for that. But we can't mistake this for actual prison reform. Alice Johnson may be very deserving of having her sentence commuted. Perhaps life in prison was too much of a penalty for her crimes. But the administration needs to be careful that this doesn't turn into a game of who can catch the eye of the king?

The administration needs to be careful that this doesn't turn into a game of "who can catch the eye of the king?"

The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Currently there are 2.2 million people behind bars, a rate of 860 inmates for every 100,000 American adults. It also costs $183 billion a year to run our prisons. While prison reform might improve conditions, and shorten some sentences for current prisoners, we also need to take a serious look at sentencing reform.

The President has an opening here to collaborate with Congress on real prison and sentencing reform. Then a move like yesterday's could be used to promote and roll out the reforms.

Again, this seems like a step in the right direction, but it's also a very dicey step, particularly in the way it's portrayed in the media as: reality star shows up and grandmother inmate gets immediate justice! This issue needs a lot less TMZ, and a lot more adult conversation.

UPDATE: Here's how the conversation went on radio. Watch the video below.

Alice Johnson's release thanks to Trump is a good step – but here's the catch

After a visit from Kim Kardashian West to advocate on her behalf, President Donald Trump has commuted the life sentence of 63-year-old Alice Johnson. The grandmother had been sentenced to life in prison after a non-violent drug crime.

Charlie Kirk’s death exposes the college scam no one wants to admit

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

For Charlie. https://t.co/a2eCbkGnn8
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) September 22, 2025

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.

Remembering Charlie Kirk: A tribute through song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE

Has free speech been twisted into a defense of violence?

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / Contributor | Getty Images

Celebrating murder is not speech. It is a revelation of the heart. America must distinguish between debate and the glorification of evil.

Over the weekend, the world mourned the murder of Charlie Kirk. In London, crowds filled the streets, chanting “Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!” and holding up pictures of the fallen conservative giant. Protests in his honor spread as far away as South Korea. This wasn’t just admiration for one man; it was a global acknowledgment that courage and conviction — the kind embodied by Kirk during his lifetime — still matter. But it was also a warning. This is a test for our society, our morality, and our willingness to defend truth.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently delivered a speech that struck at the heart of this crisis. She praised Kirk as a man who welcomed debate, who smiled while defending his ideas, and who faced opposition with respect. That courage is frightening to those who have no arguments. When reason fails, the weapons left are insults, criminalization, and sometimes violence. We see it again today, in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

Charlie Kirk’s life was a challenge. His death is a call.

Some professors and public intellectuals have written things that should chill every American soul. They argue that shooting a right-wing figure is somehow less serious than murdering others. They suggest it could be mitigated because of political disagreement. These aren’t careless words — they are a rationalization for murder.

Some will argue that holding such figures accountable is “cancel culture.” They will say that we are silencing debate. They are wrong. Accountability is not cancel culture. A critical difference lies between debating ideas and celebrating death. Debate challenges minds. Celebrating murder abandons humanity. Charlie Kirk’s death draws that line sharply.

History offers us lessons. In France, mobs cheered executions as the guillotine claimed the heads of their enemies — and their own heads soon rolled. Cicero begged his countrymen to reason, yet the mob chose blood over law, and liberty was lost. Charlie Kirk’s assassination reminds us that violence ensues when virtue is abandoned.

We must also distinguish between debates over policy and attacks on life itself. A teacher who argues that children should not undergo gender-transition procedures before adulthood participates in a policy debate. A person who says Charlie Kirk’s death is a victory rejoices in violence. That person has no place shaping minds or guiding children.

PATRICK T. FALLON / Contributor | Getty Images

For liberty and virtue

Liberty without virtue is national suicide. The Constitution protects speech — even dangerous ideas — but it cannot shield those who glorify murder. Society has the right to demand virtue from its leaders, educators, and public figures. Charlie Kirk’s life was a challenge. His death is a call. It is a call to defend our children, our communities, and the principles that make America free.

Cancel culture silences debate. But accountability preserves it. A society that distinguishes between debating ideas and celebrating death still has a moral compass. It still has hope. It still has us.