Kim Kardashian West has helped free 17 people from prison in the last 90 days
In the last three months, Kim Kardashian West has stayed committed to her pledge to fight for prison reform, helping lawyers free 17 inmates from federal prison, the nonprofit law firm the Decarceration Collective confirmed to CBS News.
Kardashian West has quietly helped fund the 90 Days of Freedom Campaign, led by a "mighty team of women lawyers" who have helped free 17 first-time nonviolent drug offenders. It follows President Trump's signing of the First Step Act, which aims to give prisoners who exhibit good behavior to shorten their sentences, particularly for nonviolent drug offenses.
"Kim Kardashian has been instrumental in funding the legal fees for vital attorney representation, transportation for newly freed prisoners so they have a ride home to their families and reentry costs related to our clients' smooth transition back into society," Lawyer MiAngel Cody, founder of the Decarceration Collective, told CBS News Tuesday. "She has supported 17 prisoners' release from prison and their ongoing decarceration."
"We are thrilled that Kim Kardashian continues to lend her voice to this important, life-saving work," said Angela Wynn, media liaison at the Decarceration Collective. "We encourage everyone to link arms to bring about transformative criminal justice."
Following the 90 Days of Freedom campaign, the Buried Alive Project and the Decarceration Collective are launching the Third Strike Project to help the hundreds of people left out by the First Step Act. "Our work is not done," Wynn said. "There are so many more we hope to save."
Kardashian West has been increasing her involvement in criminal justice reform in the last year, meeting with Mr. Trump at the White House in May 2018 to discuss the case of Alice Marie Johnson — a 63-year-old one-time non-violent drug offender serving a life sentence. Following that meeting, Mr. Trump commuted Johnson's sentence and she was released.
Inspired by the success of her campaign to release Johnson, Kardashian West recently revealed that she is preparing to take the bar exam and become a lawyer. Last summer, she decided to start a four-year apprenticeship with a law firm in San Francisco, with a goal of taking the bar exam in 2022.
"I just felt like I wanted to be able to fight for people who have paid their dues to society," Kardashian West told Vogue. "I just felt like the system could be so different, and I wanted to fight to fix it, and if I knew more, I could do more."
