CULTURE

Are We Counting on Kim Kardashian to Fix Criminal Justice?

She's doing great and important work, but what does that say about our justice system?

Kim Kardashian's Journey To Becoming A Lawyer | Season 16 | Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Over the past two years, Kim Kardashian West has made her brand synonymous with criminal justice reform.

Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that she has subsumed the criminal justice cause into her brand. Her colossal celebrity status has already proven its power by elevating her entire family to the height of reality TV royalty—even providing the springboard for the world's youngest "self-made" billionaire. Combine that with her legal ambitions and husband Kanye West's strange position as the most prominent black celebrity to join the MAGA cause, and she is suddenly positioned perfectly to work as an advocate fighting wrongful convictions and excessive sentencing.


Beginning with convincing Donald Trump to pardon Alice Johnson—who was serving a life sentence for non-violent drug offenses in the 1990s—Kardashian West has had a string of high-profile successes in her advocacy. She was instrumental in getting President Trump to negotiate A$AP Rocky's release from a Swedish prison, and helped secure early release for Momolu Stewart. She is starring in a forthcoming documentary with Oxygen called Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project, has partnered with Lyft in a program to provide former inmates with free rides to job interviews, and according to MiAngel Cody—lead counsel of the Decarceration Project—was involved in freeing 17 inmates from prison over a three month period. So perhaps it's no wonder that Kardashian West was present at the pivotal moment in another high-profile case this week.



At the center of the case, Rodney Reed, a man sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Stacey Stites. He was scheduled to be executed this Wednesday in Texas, despite multiple witnesses coming forward with testimony against the victim's then-fiancé—Jimmy Fennel, a former cop who has since been convicted of rape in a separate case—and despite the fact that no DNA tests were ever performed on the murder weapon. The case has prompted a massive online movement and several petitions for Governor Greg Abbott to grant Reed a stay of execution. Is it a coincidence then, that when that stay of execution finally came through, Reed was meeting with none other than Kim Kardashian West?

Kim Kardashian in prison jumpsuit


It very well might be, but considering the monolithic force that Donald Trump represents within the modern Republican Party—and the amount of sway that Kim and Kanye seem to have over Trump—it's not hard to imagine that a Republican governor could give such a case some extra consideration when Kardashian West is involved. At the very least, the timing is curious, but if we're going to believe that Kim Kardashian West is in some way responsible for the governor's sudden moral turn, we have to consider what that means for our criminal justice system.

Was a petition signed by nearly three million concerned citizens not compelling enough for Governor Abbott to give the evidence another look? As Kim herself put it "you had everyone from Ted Cruz to Shaun King on this case," yet it wasn't until she was meeting with Reed that his stay came through. More to the point, in a state that executes more prisoners than any other, shouldn't the governor give thorough consideration to each of these lives, regardless of public outcry? Shouldn't the entire justice system be willing to reexamine its past decision to eliminate bias and use the best evidentiary standards available today? If we are going to spend billions of dollars each year keeping people locked away from their former lives, shouldn't we be willing to spend the money to ensure that those people are guilty of the crimes they're being punished for?



The work that Kardashian West has been doing for criminal justice is genuinely amazing. For someone who, not that long ago, seemed like a purely vapid symbol of the disease of celebrity worship, she has managed to channel her status into an immense amount of positive change in a very short time. I would never want to say anything to discourage her from continuing—or other celebrities from following suit—but it still feels important to point out that this is not the way criminal justice is supposed to work.


kim kardashian what to say gif


The difference between a person's freedom and imprisonment should not be subject to the attention of someone with 100 million followers on Instagram. Justice should not be as fickle as fashion trends. We can't rely on Gigi Hadid to get woke so we can end the carceral state. I don't have a better solution. I don't have the Kardashian-level status to even propose one seriously. I just think it's important for us to all take a moment, before we go back to praising Kim's work, to just acknowledge that this is f*cked up.

Frontpage Popular News

Judge Determines Cosby is “Sexually Violent Predator,” Sentenced to 3-10 Years in State Prison

The once-beloved comedian will most likely spend the remainder of his life behind bars.

US entertainer Bill Cosby (R) arrives at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA, 24 September 2018 for sentencing

Photo by TRACIE VAN AUKEN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Earlier today, Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to ten years in state prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand.

Presiding Judge Steven O'Neil officially labeled Cosby, 81, a "sexually violent predator," forcing him to undergo counseling for life and requiring he appear on the sex offenders' registry where he lives. The actor and comedian, once hailed as "America's Dad," now faces a maximum of ten years in prison after prosecutors and attorneys agreed to merge three of the sexual assault allegations against him into one sentence. Prosecutors asked for prison time between five and ten years, while Cosby's defense asked for a sentencing of house arrest, indicating his advanced age and legal blindness.

In Constand's victim impact statement, she spoke about the lifetime effect of the assault, saying, "When the sexual assault happened, I was a young woman brimming with confidence and looking forward to a future bright with possibilities. Now, almost 15 years later, I'm a middle-aged woman who's been stuck in a holding pattern for most of her adult life, unable to heal fully or to move forward."

O'Neil said to Cosby, "This was a serious crime. Mr Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The day has come, the time has come." He also added, "No one is above the law, and no one should be treated differently or disproportionally." He called Constand's statement "powerful."

Kathy McKee, a former actress who also accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, said that she is happy with O'Neil's sentencing, and that she is proud of Constand for "standing strong."

Cosby's defense stated that they would appeal the conviction.


Joshua Smalley is a New York-based writer, editor, and playwright. Find Josh at his website and on Twitter: @smalleywrites.



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Kim K. Back to Ask Trump to Let Another Inmate Go

On a Mission to Free a Felon

These days, Kim Kardashian is spending more time at the White House than in her multi-million dollar mansion.

But she's not there for the chaos or (alleged) collusion, she's on a mission to make a difference one life at a time.

You may remember earlier this year when the reality star persuaded the Prez to grant clemency to Alice Marie Johnson, a grandma who was locked up to live out the rest of her life behind bars for cocaine trafficking and money laundering. After serving 22 out of who-knows-how-many years she had left to go, Johnson was set free, with none other than Kim K. to thank. And being incarcerated through the age of the internet, Johnson didn't even know what a Kardashian was.

Fast forward circa now, and Mrs. West is on a White House call once again. This time it's for Chris Young, "sentenced to life without parole after being arrested for marijuana and cocaine possession," according to USA Today.

Kardashian talked with Jason Flom, the host of " Wrongful Conviction," a podcast dedicated to cases they feel were unjustly finalized. She said, "Yesterday, I had a call with a gentleman that's in prison for a drug case – got life. It's so unfair. He's 30 years old. He's been in for almost 10 years."

According to Evening Standard, "Mr. Young, 30, suffers sickle cell anemia. He was given life because of prior drug cases in his teens. His prior convictions to get him to three strikes was marijuana, and then marijuana with less than half a gram of cocaine."

As USA Today reports, "The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star said she's working with former Tennessee Judge Kevin Sharp, who unwillingly handed down the harsh sentence to Young due to mandatory-sentencing regulations." And he resigned due to the regulation feeling it was unfair but his hands were tied at the time.

With the success she saw with Johnson, Kardashian is seeking a similar fate for Young. So, she's working her way up the Trump family tree. As per Page Six, "Kardashian said that she talks regularly with President Trump's son-in-law and aide, Jared Kushner, whom she called 'passionate' about changing sentencing laws." As for the Johnson case, Kardashian went through First Daughter, Ivanka. "I figured Ivanka [Trump] would totally understand and feel the same thing that I felt. So, my first call was to Ivanka," she admitted.

Will Trump take Kardashian's plea to heart and free Young as he did Johnson? If things go her way, Young will get a lucky break too. And with zero strikes so far, Kardashian will likely move on to another case she feels was unjust.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians is getting serious. Now this is reality.


Melissa A. Kay is a New York-based writer, editor, and content strategist. Follow her work on Popdust as well as sites including TopDust, Chase Bank, P&G, Understood.org, The Richest, GearBrain, The Journiest, Bella, TrueSelf, Better Homes & Gardens, AMC Daycare, and more.


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