Alice Marie Johnson says Larry Hoover's federal prison sentence was commuted to give him the hope of receiving a real second chance ... but he still has years to serve in an Illinois prison for a state crime, and Alice hopes the Illinois governor might grant him clemency as well.
00:00Alice, are you reviewing all of these cases and then you are bringing them to the president or some of them, you know, brought to you, brought to your desk by other members of the administration saying these are some people we should consider?
00:16Well, I review almost all. I review everyone, every last one of them before they go to the president. I knew about Larry Hoover's case when Trump, when I'm sorry, when Kanye and Drake did the Free Larry Hoover concert. As a matter of fact, I did the video for it. I did. I was the first voice that you heard at the concert. And that's when I became aware of Larry Hoover's plight.
00:44Pardoning him from his federal sentence doesn't really mean freedom for him. So what was the thinking behind that? Because to a lot of people, it seemed like almost just sort of ceremonial because he's not getting freedom. He's just going to go to a different prison.
01:02You have to do this step. And you have to, in looking at Larry Hoover's case, it must be his freedom from the federal system, which was so deserving for him. This man has been in solitary confinement for almost 30 years, not having seen daylight, not having had human touch.
01:21I've been in close contact with his family, with his children, with his wife. And they wanted to see this step take place. This is not ceremonial. This is a step to the door. They're now working on hoping that the governor of Illinois, I'm not, of Illinois will have the same mercy that President Trump had upon Larry Hoover.
01:46President Trump, I call him the second chance president, because he's giving many a second chance in life that other administrations would not even consider.
01:56In prison, you should see the letters that the men who were incarcerated with him wrote about Larry Hoover and how he changed their lives.
02:04So still holding up a 22-year-old, 52 years later, is not only inhumane, but it serves no purpose to this nation.
02:16We are the United States of America, which means we're united with those who need a second chance.
02:22We're united with people from all walks of life. And this man truly deserves a second chance.
02:28So I hope the governor will hear the plea of not only his family, but the plea of the public to let this man go home.
02:36When the Chrisley's daughter filed her petition, it didn't so much talk about a sentence that was unfair, a conviction that was unfair, as much as it did what she has done for Donald Trump.
02:52And he has a right to consider whatever he wants. How much of a factor is that in Donald Trump's calculations on who gets pardoned?
03:03Harvey, I'm the one who actually brought the Chrisley's to the president.
03:07And in their petition, she talks really about what happened to her parents. She talks about the case.
03:13Now, that's what's in the actual petition, not so much talking about herself and my children also fought for my release.
03:21So I can understand a child really wanting to fight for their parents to come back home.
03:26When these applications come in and I review them, I have to have an attorney, a trained attorney who reviews them, pulls all of the elements, their sentencing report, any court documents.
03:40And it's very important for me to have their disciplinary from, you know, their primary support.
03:46If there's been discipline, a lot of discipline in the prison where they have not, they would not be a good candidate.
03:54It's very important that they don't pose a safety risk because I don't want to be presenting individuals who will become, I'll say, menace to society.
04:02I want to make sure that these are people who pose no risk.
04:06Many have aged out of criminality and have totally reformed while they were incarcerated.
04:13Has he considered Joe Exotic, pardoning him?
04:16I'm not sure whether he's considering that or not.
04:19I can tell you, I personally, you know, I've only been there.
04:22I mean, my first 60 days.
04:24Right.
04:24It's not come across my desk as of yet.
04:28But it does not mean that it's not in the White House.
04:31So I would consider Joe Exotic, looking at the elements of his case.
04:37I don't know that much about his case, even though he's a very public figure.
04:41I try not to allow myself to be influenced by public opinion, but to look carefully at the elements of every element of that case.
