'I am considering a Full Pardon!' the president writes on Twitter after revealing that the 'Rocky' actor called him 'with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson.'
- April 23, 2018
AceShowbiz - Sylvester Stallone has asked President Donald Trump to pardon heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. And Trump has confirmed he is considering the movie star's request to make Johnson his third pardon since he took office in 2017.
The president tweets, "Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial. Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!"
Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial. Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 21 April 2018
Johnson, the first black heavyweight world champion in 1908, was arrested in 1913 and charged with transporting a prostitute across state lines. He skipped bail and fled to Europe, but served almost a year behind bars when he returned to the U.S. in 1920.
He died in 1946, aged 68, and his life was the focus of Ken Burns' acclaimed 2004 documentary, "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson", while James Earl Jones portrayed the fighter in "The Great White Hope".
A Johnson pardon bill failed in the Senate in 2008 and although other proposals have been approved, a formal pardon has never gone through.
