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Kim Kardashian West is making yet more strides in her fight to give inmates released from prison a second chance.
When Kim K started dipping her toe into the justice system, she was met with raised eyebrows. ‘Yea, sure’, we said, ‘this millionaire reality star is so well equipped to tackle the ingrained biases of the US courts and build connections between former inmates and their communities’. Now, it seems that those same critics are, if not quite eating humble pie, being forced to re-examine their words. I must admit that I am one of those people.
The Kardashians have done ‘good deeds’ before. In a few episodes of Keeping Up the family are filmed assisting in homeless shelters. Those willing to take things at face value took this as publicising the act of helping itself, whereas the cynics among us interpreted the Kardashians publicising themselves. And who can begrudge them that? Not the classiest of moves but, after all, publicity is what brought them fame.
At first Kim’s law career looked like one of those questionably intentioned and ultimately unremarkable attempts of celebs to make their fame mean something. But you know what? We’re months into Kim’s war of attrition with the shoddy prison reform system in the US, and with mouthy critics like me, and I must say she’s shown some surprising resilience.
Recently Ms Kardashian West has been working with the organisation #cut50, founded by CNN commentator Van Jones and attorney Jessica Jackson. As part of her work with the group Kim has been visiting prisons, petitioning governors, and even attending meetings at the White House. Her focus has been negotiating on behalf of nonviolent black and minority offenders, and those on death row whose cases indicate an unfair trial.
Last year she successfully entreated the president to commute the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a nonviolent drug offender. She’s also publicly leant her voice to the case of Kevin Cooper, a convicted murderer whose attempts to gain a retrial due to insufficient evidence have garnered widespread support (the case is still ongoing so watch this space).
Having surmised the exact level of her influence in the White House, Kim K has turned her attention to Silicon Valley. At a recent White House press appearance, she announced a partnership with ride-sharing app Lyft that, amongst other things, guarantees over 5000 soon-to-be-released inmates free rides to job interviews. The program will also set up housing and long-term employment assistance.
According to TMZ, Lyft and Kim together have ‘worked tirelessly on both federal and local levels to ensure inmates will be provided housing and employment opportunities’ after incarceration.
In a series of tweets Kim revealed the intention behind the program.
Since the passage of the First Step Act in December, I’ve been speaking with people coming home from prison and learning about the challenges they are facing.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) June 13, 2019
While I have been able to offer support to some of the individuals I have met, the obstacles to success are an everyday struggle for thousands and more needs to be done.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) June 13, 2019
Proud to partner on this initiative with @Lyft, a company with a history of taking bold action to do what’s right for our community. Thank you for providing ride share credits to formally incarcerated people when they come home.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) June 13, 2019
It seems that she’s using her considerable power and influence to tackle what is surely one of the biggest failings of the US justice system: their sky-high recidivism rates. Within three years of release, a US ex-convict has a 67.8% chance of re-offending (that’s nearly two in every three). Within five years of release, this number climbs to 76.6% – over three quarters.
Though the sociological framework behind this is complex, some of the stressers on ex-prisoners are well documented and easy to understand. Ex-cons are widely discriminated against in the workplace and find it difficult to use skills accumulated in their pre-incarceration life to gain employment. What’s more, the strain of finding accommodation and reintegrating oneself with the ‘outside world’ after many years of imprisonment cannot be overstated.
