Kim Kardashian Has Helped To Free 17 People From Prison In The Last Three Months

Kim Kardashian has quietly helped to free 17 people from prison in the US over the last three months.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star announced last month that she is studying to become a lawyer, with criminal justice reform being a particular passion of hers.

She visited the White House in 2018 to speak to President Donald Trump about the subject, a meeting that resulted in the release of Alice Johnson, a woman in her sixties serving a life sentence for a non-violent drug offence.

In December of that year, Trump signed the First Step Act, which allows those imprisoned on drug offences to seek reductions in their sentences.

Brittany K Barnett, lawyer and founder of the Buried Alive Project, and MiAngel Cody, lead counsel of the Decarceration Collective, have confirmed that over the past three months, Kim has been funding their campaigns to free first-time drug offenders.

Kim is apprenticing with two practising lawyers in the hopes of becoming one herself

Speaking to CNN, Barnett said Kim’s work to have Johnson released wasn’t a “one-off thing”:

She’s using her platform to shine a light on this issue. She really helped us with the work we’ve already been doing, and she’s helping us amplify the voices of people who are buried alive… This wasn’t just a one-off thing. This is a real passion for her.

Kim has been providing financial support to lawyers travelling around the US asking judges to release inmates, as well as helping people get their lives back on track after leaving prison.

Telling Vogue about her decision to study law, Kim said: “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.”

• Kim Kardashian