- When Alice Marie Johnsonbegan serving her sentence,

she was told that shewould not leave prison

until she was carried out as a corpse.

She'd been given life for her crimes,

and while behind bars,she saw life pass her by,

the birth of her grandkids,the deaths of her parents.

For years, Alice sawappeal after appeal denied,

until her case got the attentionof an unlikely champion.

- I made a very, very bad mistake.

- [Reporter] Alice Marie Johnson went from

a law-abiding citizen to federal inmate

after she was arrested fornon-violent participation

in a drug conspiracy.

She was sentenced to life, plus 25 years,

without the possibility of parole.

Alice had no reason tohope, yet she still did.

In her memoir, After Life,

Alice shares how her faith sustained her

for more than two decades in prison,

and how Kim Kardashian-Westtook her fight for freedom

straight to the Oval Office.

- Well, we welcome AliceMarie Johnson to The 700 Club.

It's great to have you here.

- It is an honor to be here today, Terry.

- Alice, in 1987, you were going through

a tough time in your life.

You were going through a divorce,

you were in a tough place financially,

and then you met a guy named Ted.

How did he impact your life?

- My whole life was changed forever

with one meeting.- Yeah.

- I became involved in gambling,

and I had a gambling addiction.

I never thought that my lifewould take a turn like this.

After a visit from a cousin out of Texas,

well, let me back up just alittle bit, Terry, please.

After I got involved in gambling,

that led to the loss of my job.

I lost my job, I had beena manager with Fed-Ex.

I'd worked for them for 10 years.

I was a normal citizen.

- Yes.- Never expected

this to happen to me,and after I lost my job,

I struggled financially.

I was raising five childrenas a single mother.

I was divorced in 1989, and my husband

gave me absolutely no support.

That was a period of my life, Terry,

that if I could go back and change it,

the decisions I made, I would.

But I was under a lot ofpressure, a lot of stress,

with bills coming in, myhouse was being foreclosed on.

My car had been repossessed.

I could barely even pay my utility bills

or put food on the table for my children.

- Wow.- And when I was presented

with what some might call an opportunity,

but that would be thebeginning of the end for me,

for life as I knew it for almost 22 years.

I was asked to be a telephone mule,

an information mule, whereI would pass the numbers

between parties who were selling drugs.

I never sold or used drugs, and it--

- So you were giving theminformation on who wanted them,

who was seeking the drugs?- No, only phone numbers.

I didn't know the people who wanted them.

I didn't know the people who were--

I knew the phone numbers.- Uh-huh.

- And that's what they do oftentime.

They'll make sure that they find someone

who's not under the radar for the police,

'cause they would neverthink to check your number,

so they'd call, and theywould give me their number.

I'd call the next person,they'd answer the phone,

and I didn't even haveto call them by name.

I would say call this number.- Wow.

Eventually, the police caught you.

Did you realize the magnitudeof what you had done?

- No, no.

(laughs)

I never knew that a lifesentence was even on the table.

I didn't think that youcould get a life sentence.

I knew I had committed a crime,

so I'm not trying to say--- You had not.

- That I didn't deservesome type of punishment,

but a life plus 25 years...- Wow.

- Without the possibility of parole.

I was offered three to five years.

I went to trial, a six-week trial.

I was convicted, and six months later

I stood before the judge,and life plus 25 years

without parole.- Why didn't

you plea bargain?

- I had an attorney who toldme that I had such a good case,

no drugs, no money.

In fact, he presented tothe jury where's the beef?

- Wow.- And he told me that

he felt that we could win,and don't take the plea.

It's the charges that werebeing presented against me,

and also, I was given avery, what I call a low bond.

The ones who testified against me,

none of them could get bonds

because they all had criminal records,

and they had a lot to gain,by making me their boss

and testifying against me.

- Wow, the day you were convictedand given this sentence,

it was the day before yourson's 20th birthday...

- Yes.- I understand.

What was that day like for you?

- The day that I was convicted, my son,

we had planned on celebratinghis birthday the next day,

'cause birthdays were soimportant to my children.

That was the one day I'dtell them that's your day.

You don't have to share,it's not like Christmas

or other things, it's your special day.

And I turned around and I connected,

and I thought abouthim so much that night,

about the plans that wehad made to celebrate.

Instead we were in a state of mourning.

- Wow.

You were given this horrific sentence

that is harsh under any circumstances,

but you always felt likeyou would be released.

Where did that hope come from?

- It was only my faith in God.

Doing my time in prison, Iknew that the Lord was with me.

I'd always, I was raisedin a Christian home,

but I went astray.

I was pregnant andmarried at 15 years old.

- Wow.- But, I still had those--

My foundation was still there.

And when I went toprison, I fell on my knees

and I asked the Lord,

if you can use me, I'm available.

Lord, please give meanother chance with you.

I didn't do the thingsthat I did in prison

because I was trying to get out of jail.

It wasn't jailhouse religion.

I picked up a Bible in that county jail,

and I could understand it.

- [Terry] Yeah.

- Because previously, I'd only read

King James version.

Well, this was a free onthe inside, a NIV Bible,

and all of a sudden theword of God opened up to me,

and I could understand it.

I read that Bible over, and I loved it.

I loved the word of God, andthat is what brought change

in my life, because nowI got the word of God,

that is implanted down upon me.

I not only know about Jesus,

he's so personal to menow, and he started--

I started being able to doincredible things in prison.

He gave me favor with the staff.

Other women there wouldsee me with my Bible,

and they started asking mequestions about the Bible.

And I started doing Bible study.

I started, as I say, I wrote plays,

I wrote faith-based plays mainly,

and I found ways

that women could be lifted up

by realizing what they could do.

Now they find that they can act.

I'm choreographing dance,

I'm doing things for the prison staff,

I'm putting programs together.

- It's almost like you came to life

while you were in there.- I did.

I absolutely did.- So, let me

interrupt you for a moment, and ask you

how in the world, in that scenario,

you came to be connectedwith Kim Kardashian.

- I did a video op-ed.

I'd spoken at different platforms.

We had gotten video chat in the prison.

I spoke at Yale University,

I spoke at New York University,

the University of Seattle in Washington,

Hunters College, so--- What did you speak on?

- I spoke on, at that time,I was fighting for clemency,

and so I started speakingabout the need for clemency,

the need to reunite families,

the need for mercy.- Yes.

- I've always said, asthe word of God says,

justice triumphs over mercy,

and that the laws needed to change,

and there was a person in theaudience who heard me speak

and he was able to get in contact with me,

and asked me if I'd do a video op-ed.

And I did, and it went viral.

Kim Kardashian saw it and she tweeted out

this is so unfair, and shewanted to help me become free.

She hired, her lawyer got intouch with me, Shawn Holley,

and told me only that avery rich and famous woman

had asked her to reach me to find out

if I wanted her to helpme gain my freedom.

I didn't have to thinkabout it, just like uh, yes.

- Just sure, huh?- Yes.

And I didn't know who it was.

And I really thought it was Kris Jenner,

and I had my daughter Google Shawn Holley

to find out who she wasand who her clients were,

so I could figure out who thisrich and famous woman was,

and she said maybe it'sKim Kardashian, Mama.

And I said Kim who?

I didn't know who Kim was.

- [Terry] So, how did it come about?

We've just got a little bit of time left.

- Okay, I'll tell you very quickly.

She hired a team, sheassembled a team of attorneys.

She contacted Ivanka Trump.

Ivanka put her in touchwith Jared Kushner,

and they started trying to arrange

for Kim to get an audiencewith the President.

And Kim got that audienceon my birthday, May 30th,

and she went to the White House.

They vetted my case very closely.

Kim presented from a standpoint of

my accomplishments in prison,

and the human side, howlong I had been gone

for a first time offense,

and Shawn Holley presented

a compelling legal argumentbefore the President.

Seven days later, I was

running across the road into freedom.

- Wow, unbelievable.

We have just skimmed the surface

because Alice Marie's story is amazing.

I mean, you just need to read the book.

It's called After Life, which is available

in stores nationwide.

Find out more aboutwhat it was like for her

to come free after howmany years and days?

- 21 years, seven months, and six days.

Really, my story is morethan just a story of,

that speaks about theneed for prison reform.

It's my life story, it's my memoir.

It's a story of hope, offaith, of perseverance,

and also the redeemingpower of Jesus Christ.

- Mercy trumps justice.- Yes, it does.