Over the last few months, Kim Kardashian has been making a concerted effort to change her position in life.
But while she may always be seen as the epitome of a certain type of modern day celebrity on the surface, behind the scenes it seems Kim K has been working hard for a good cause.
Since meeting with Donald Trump last year, Kim has spoken about how she needs to know more and do more when it comes to things she is passionate about. She has also announced that she is training to be a lawyer, following in the footsteps of her attorney father, while succeeding in her mission to free imprisoned 62-year-old Marie Johnson.
It’s now been revealed that, along with Marie Johnson, Kim Kardashian and her legal team have freed 17 inmates in around three months.
The movement has been part of a campaign called 90 Days of Freedom, which was launched by Kim’s lawyer, Brittany K. Barnett, in partnership with lawyer MiAngel Cody from The Decarceration Collective.
Kim has been funding the project, according to TMZ, helping free prisoners that were given life-sentences without parole for ‘low-level drug offences’. The campaign is working for prisoners as part of the First Step Act, which was signed by Trump last year, to help prisoners who were handed excessive sentences.
The 38-year-old has reportedly been funding the project over the last few months, while Barnett – who also established the Buried Alive advocacy group – and Cody handle the legal side of things, as Kim is still in training.
So far, we’ve heard about the successful campaigns for the release of Alice Marie Johnson in Alabama, Jeffery Stringer in Florida and Cyntonia Brown in Tennessee. But now more names of inmates helped by the 90 Days of Freedom campaign have been revealed.
For example, Jamelle Carraway is now out of prison after 11 years inside. Jamelle was 31 when he was arrested and handed a life sentence for cocaine possession.
Similarly, Eric Balcom was 29 when he was arrested on a drug charge. He was given a life sentence without parole, and had served 16 years before the campaign secured his release.
Terrence Byrd has also been released after spending 25 years – half his life – in federal prison without parole, also on drug possession charges.
The campaign isn’t over either, as Kim, Brittany and MiAngel have said they’re still working on several more cases.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.