Kim Kardashian West made another visit to the White House on March 4 to talk about criminal justice reforms. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star, minimalist queen, and future lawyer stopped by Washington, D.C. alongside four women President Trump recently released from prison while granting clemency to multiple people.
Alice Marie Johnson, Tynice Nichole Hall, Crystal Munoz and Judith Negron accompanied Kardashian West on her trip, as she previously mentioned they would. “Today Alice, Crystal, Judith, Tynice and I, along with the @cut_50 team will be at the White House bringing light to these women and discuss more change that our justice system desperately needs!” she tweeted to her millions of followers.
No stranger to standing up for what she believes in, Kardashian West has visited Trump multiple times to speak about releasing inmates. She had success with freeing Johnson, but Trump did not agree with Kardashian West’s argument for the release of Chris Young in September 2018, who is serving a life sentence for dealing drugs.
The Women Who Accompanied Kardashian West
Three of the women Kardashian West brought with her to campaign for prison reform were all part of the recent Executive Grants of Clemency Trump signed; effectively commuting their sentences for paying their debts to society.
Hall, a 36-year-old mother, served almost 14 years of her 18-year sentence for allowing the distribution of drugs out of her apartment. While in prison, she managed to get her college degree and help teach other inmates through prison educational programs.
Munoz was caught for her part in a small marijuana smuggling ring, for which she served 12 years. While in prison, she dedicated her time to helping other people better their own lives by volunteering with hospice patients and following through on her commitment to rehabilitation.
48-year-old Negron served eight out of her 35-year sentence she was subjected to after the health care company she was a minority-owner of was caught for attempting to defraud the Federal Government. A wife and a mother, Negron was described as having “always shown herself to be a model inmate who works extremely well with others and has established a good working relationship with staff and inmates,” by her warden.
Johnson was incarcerated in 1997 for her role in a Memphis drug operation. She was sentenced to life in prison before Kardashian West famously lobbied for her release in 2019, before the other three women. Johnson also became a hospice worker while she was in prison, and was eventually granted clemency from Trump, with a little unexpected help from a badass reality star.
West In The White House
Not only is this my genius reality show title from 2016 after Kanye West announced he was running for President in 2020 (which I thought all hope was lost from, but it turns out he’s planning to run in 2024), it’s also a perfect descriptor of how Kardashian West has been spending her time lately. She’s clearly dedicated to releasing prisoners who have put the time in to better their own lives, as well as the lives around them, by helping to release them and work on criminal justice reform plans.
Kardashian West also spoke publicly about studying to become a lawyer, just like her late father Robert Kardashian. She announced her plans in the May 2019 issue of Vogue. She stated that after helping Johnson, she loved that she was able to make a difference in someone else’s life, but she also realized how much she still needed to learn.
“The White House called me to advise to help change the system of clemency,” Kardashian West said, “and I’m sitting in the Roosevelt Room with, like, a judge who had sentenced criminals and a lot of really powerful people and I just sat there, like, Oh, shit. I need to know more.”
She will be studying with practicing mentor lawyers for four years (of which she’s already completed the first year) and then take the state bar in lieu of finishing college.
While this scenario may bring back memories of Legally Blonde, having someone with such a huge platform fighting for an important, and underserved, cause can only have a positive impact.