After successfully petitioning President Trump to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a nonviolent first-time drug offender, Kim Kardashian has dedicated herself to justice reform. "I'm sitting in the Roosevelt Room with, like, a judge who had sentenced criminals and a lot of really powerful people," she recently recounted to Vogue. "I just sat there, like, Oh, sh*t. I need to know more."
"I would say what I had to say, about the human side and why this is so unfair," she continued. "But I had attorneys with me who could back that up with all the facts of the case... I just felt like I wanted to be able to fight for people who have paid their dues to society. 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."
The experience inspired the reality star to study to become a lawyer. California is one of a handful of American states where prospective lawyers can do a four-year apprenticeship instead of going to law school. Kardashian is required to study law for at least 18 hours a week, submit progress reports to the California Bar Association, and pass tests like the torts exam, MPRE exam and bar exam.
Kardashian announced on Friday that she helped free another low-level drug offender from a lengthy prison sentence. The prisoner, identified as Jeffrey Stringer, served 22 years of a life sentence. Sources connected to the case told TMZ that Stringer was convicted for drug possession was 25, and since he had two priors, he got a life sentence under Florida's Three Strikes law.
On Twitter, Kardashian shared a photo of Stringer reuniting with his happy family. "We did it again!" she wrote, "Had the best call w/this lovely family & my attorney @msbkb who just won release for their loved one Jeffrey in Miami - he served 22 years of life sentence for low level drug case. He served too much time but it gives me so much joy to fund this life saving work."
In the tweet, Kardashian credits Stringer's attorney, Brittany K. Barnett, with negotiating the release, and indicates she paid the bill. "Such an amazing day!!" Barnett tweeted. "Jeffrey should never have been sentenced to life in this case. Period. America’s addiction to incarceration devastates entire families. So happy Jeffrey will be reunited with his family after 22 years!! His life was saved today!!"
Following Alice Marie Johnson's release, Congress passed the First Step Act, which President Trump signed into law last December. The bill is the most significant justice reform at the federal level in years, although although its effect on mass incarceration is relatively small and critics say much more needs to be done. As its title indicates, it is an important first step, the key word being "first."
Kardashian also helped secure clemency for Cyntoia Brown, a teenager sentenced to life for murder.
