Donald Trump led a bipartisan effort during his first term to pass the First Step Act—landmark legislation designed to encourage rehabilitation, reduce recidivism, and curb excessive and unfair sentences in the federal prison system. Now, just weeks into his new term, the president has taken another significant step toward bringing compassion to those still serving excessive sentences.

Enter Alice Marie Johnson.

On Thursday, the president announced that Johnson will serve as the administration’s “pardon czar.” In this new role, she will provide expert insight into clemency petitions from America’s overburdened criminal justice system. This change is long overdue. After the uproar over President Joe Biden‘s eleventh-hour blanket pardons for his son and other well-connected figures such as Anthony Fauci, the White House tapped Johnson to give voice to those without family ties or political influence. Johnson will be an ambassador for the forgotten American.

Our Founding Fathers recognized the importance of clemency in times of disorder. In Federalist No. 74, Alexander Hamilton wrote: “Humanity and good policy conspire to dictate, that the benign prerogative of pardoning should be as little as possible fettered or embarrassed.” Yet too often, pardons have been wielded as political favors rather than tools of justice. Instead of promoting unity, they have reflected back-door deals among the well heeled and well connected—further deepening public distrust in the system.

Johnson is uniquely suited to restore transparency, redemption, and fairness to the clemency process. She knows firsthand the injustices of federal sentencing laws, having spent more than two decades incarcerated for a first-time, nonviolent drug offense. Rather than letting her circumstances define her, Johnson became a mentor, teacher, ordained minister, and advocate for her fellow inmates. She coordinated the first-ever prison Special Olympics, volunteered in hospice care and served on suicide watch. Her leadership earned widespread respect from both staff and inmates, eventually catching Trump’s attention. In 2018, the president granted her clemency, followed by a full pardon in 2020.

Since her release, Johnson has become one of the nation’s most influential advocates for criminal justice reform. She founded Taking Action for Good, an organization amplifying the voices of those trapped in an unfair criminal justice system. Unlike the reckless policies of rogue prosecutors, which allow violent criminals to evade accountability, Johnson has fought for reforms that balance fairness and security.

We’ve seen what happens when the pardon pen is wielded without proper vetting. Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden met widespread public disapproval, but it obscured an even more tragic misuse of clemency power. While the outgoing president may have intended to help people like Alice Marie Johnson, he inadvertently granted clemency to a convicted child killer. Adrian Peeler, a Connecticut drug kingpin, had already served time for his role in the execution of a witness and her eight-year-old son before entering federal prison. Biden could have benefitted from the kind of careful, experienced judgment that Johnson will bring to the White House—ensuring that clemency serves justice, not political expediency.

Johnson’s approach to clemency is guided by fairness, not favoritism. She understands the difference between granting mercy to those who deserve a second chance and rewarding criminals who pose a continued threat to society. During Trump’s first term, Johnson successfully advocated for dozens of commutations, pardons, and compassionate releases. She also championed the CARES Act, which released 13,204 people to home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing recidivism in the process. Her time in federal prison provides her with a unique ability to evaluate clemency petitions and incarceration policies through the prism of redemption. Unlike Beltway insiders, she knows what to look for when assessing whether a prisoner is ready to reenter society or likely to return to crime.

Trump has campaigned three times on fighting for the forgotten man. By elevating Alice Marie Johnson from a federal prison cell to a key position in the Oval Office, he is taking a vital step toward fulfilling that promise. He is also reaffirming what Hamilton described as the “humanity and good policy” at the heart of the pardon power.

Trump’s first term proved that smart reform can bolster public safety. Now, with Alice Marie Johnson leading the charge, America’s justice system can once again be a beacon of fairness, integrity, and redemption.

James Davis is the founder and president of the communications firm Touchdown Strategies, a public safety and criminal justice advocate. Follow him on Twitter: @imjamesdavis

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.