Hawkeye Reporter

Alice Marie Johnson wrote plays in which Lenora Logan acted. They sang together in a choir and formed a fast friendship.

They had something else in common: Both were serving long prison sentences for their involvement in drug deals. Today, they share another connection. Both women are free.

Logan was granted clemency by President Donald Trump on Oct. 21, her 60th birthday. She was given a compassionate release from prison in 2018, but still had 10 years of probation hanging over her head.

Alice Marie Johnson | Contributed photo

Johnson, who also was released from prison in 2018 and given a full pardon in August 2020, had been advocating for her friend, and was thrilled to get the news that Trump had granted her clemency. He also commuted the sentences of John Bolen, whom Johnson also had been advocating for, Rashella Reed, Charles Tanner and Curtis McDonald, who had been involved in the same drug conspiracy as Johnson more than two decades ago.

Trump gave them “a huge clemency gift,” said Johnson, who has met with and lobbied the president on behalf of nonviolent offenders and became somewhat well-known for her advocacy efforts. She was a featured speaker at the 2020 Republican National Convention.

Johnson, 65, said she was glad Logan would no longer have “the government’s thumb” on her.

“Honestly, that’s worse than someone sitting in prison serving a five-year sentence,” she said. “It’s always hanging over your head. Always having to report. She spent more than 20 years in prison, two decades.”

The women met at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell, a federal prison for female inmates in Fort Worth, Texas. They bonded over theater and music and talked about their life and the choices they had made that landed them in prison.

Johnson, 65, said she had never seen drugs, much less used them. But she said she did work on the telephone to notify others in the conspiracy when drugs had arrived. She also was involved in money laundering.

She said her downfall came after she became addicted to gambling, lost her job and was grieving after the death of her son in a scooter accident.

Logan’s experience was different. She became addicted to crack cocaine as a teenager and was swept up in dealing in large part to support her addiction. Logan was involved in a crack cocaine operation in Davenport that started in 1997, leading to her arrest in 1998.

She went to prison in 1999, at first facing a life sentence that was later reduced to 30 years. In 2018, she wrote a letter to Trump, requesting an early release.

“After almost 19 years of incarceration, I feel I have paid my debt and I am a changed person,” Logan wrote on the CAN-DO Justice Through Clemency website. “During the time in federal prison, I have taken many programs to help aid me in my addiction and prepared me for re-entry back into the community to be a helpful member of society. If given the privilege to return to my loved ones after serving so much time for crimes that took me away from them, I would be forever grateful.

“I live each day with the regret of cheating my children out of 19 years of my life by not being there for them when they needed me. Also my chronically ill mother suffering from dementia, I hope to be able to use my health care I’ve learned while being in prison to take care of her. It is my dream to volunteer in the community with hospice care to bring hope to families. I would also like to bring a message to those suffering from addiction and the costs it brings to families. I want to be a positive role model to help others with addiction and will strive each day to be a lawful and positive citizen of my community. I want to promote positive influence to members of the community and my family.”

Logan said she had changed and wanted to return to her family. Johnson said that positive evolution was apparent when Logan saved the life of a prison nurse. It led to her sentence being further reduced to 27 years.

“She put her own life at risk because this was a mentally ill patient that had attacked this woman staff member,” Johnson told Illinois Business Daily earlier this year. “The mentally ill woman had a crush on this staff member, and I just know she could have killed this woman if not for Lenora, who put her own safety aside. Lenora fought her off this staff woman.”

Johnson said she and Logan have the same immediate goal, to spend time with family and luxuriate in freedom. They have to let go of the pain of two decades behind bars.

“Every moment is precious,” she said. “We can’t get that time back. Enjoy your time and memories now.”

Johnson wrote a book on her experience, “After Life: My Journey From Incarceration To Freedom,” which was published in 2019. Media personality Kim Kardashian-West, who worked to get her released, wrote the foreword.

“There are no words strong enough to express my deep and heartfelt gratitude,” Johnson wrote in appreciation. “Ms. Kardashian, you are quite 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.”

Johnson formed the Taking Action for Good Foundation and serves as its CEO.

She has advocated for many inmates and has lobbied politicians, including Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to assist people as they re-enter society. Johnson also calls for an end to mandatory-minimum sentences, is opposed to excessive cash bail requirements and said women should be given a large role in the criminal justice system.

Johnson has flown with Trump aboard Air Force One and said she was impressed that he was serious about learning more about prison reform.

“I really like President Trump. He listens,” she said. “He wasn’t just rushing and trying to get a photo-op. We had a conversation. He listened and he acted.”