Kim Kardashian took to Instagram Stories on Wednesday to document a recent visit she made to Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, California.
‘Last week I had the most educational and inspiring visit to Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in LA – my first time visiting a juvenile facility,’ the 41-year-old celebrity said. ‘I was really impressed by the young men that I had the opportunity of spending time with.
‘They were so brave to share their stories with me on their upbringings of abuse, neglect, foster care, and feeling unloved which ultimately led them to make some awful choices that led them to where they are at now in life.’
The latest: Kim Kardashian, 41, took to Instagram Stories on Wednesday to document a recent visit she made to Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, California
The Los Angeles native opened up on the different emotions she experienced in the visit, saying she felt ‘so sad and angry’ and ‘also impressed with the accountability they were taking for their lifestyle and crimes they committed.’
Kardashian said that all the boys she met ‘had made the decision to change their lives and were actively living that change’ through involvement in programs through Los Angeles Mission College, Hollywood CPR at West LA College, Healing Dialogue and Action, Asian Youth Center and Jail Guitar Doors USA, among others.
‘They were being mentored by the dedicated and committed Probation officers and men from Anti-Recidivism Coalition,’ Kardashian said, adding that ‘as these young men are reimagining their lives, it is up for us as a community to reimagine help meaningfully support them.’
Kardashian said that the visit helped boost her awareness of the community’s ‘need to be doing everything we can do to help’ the people involved and put them on a track for success.
Kardashian shared a shot of the barbed wire fence surrounding the perimeter of the facility
Kardashian named a number of groups involved in the rehabilitation process
Kim opened up about her experience interacting with the juveniles in custody at the facility
‘I walked away really understanding that these young adults need our attention and will be out one day and we need to set them up to succeed and not go back to the lifestyle they were so accustomed to,’ Kardashian said. ‘These are the young men that deserve a second chance and if we give them the opportunities to learn and grow and change.’
Kardashian said she was thankful toward the officials involved with the visit and the services they provide.
‘I want to thank Los Angeles County Probation and the superintendent for having me, and to the staff I met – who really believe in redemption and were constantly guiding these young men towards a positive path,’ she said.
The star posed with Los Angeles County staffers at the facility
Kardashian also thanked prison reform advocate Scott Budnick for his efforts in helping and mentoring others.
‘Not only do you allow me to tagalong on your journey but I learned so much from you,’ she said.
Kardashian has been active in her efforts for criminal reform in recent years, as she worked with federal authorities on the prison release of Alice Marie Johnson, who was pardoned from a life sentence in 2018 stemming from a 1996 conviction on nonviolent drug charges.
Plea: In November Kardashian urged Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to spare the life of death row inmate Julius Jones (pictured)
Killing: Jones was convicted of murder in the 1999 shooting of 45-year-old Paul Howell (pictured)
Last year, she commandeered efforts to prevent the execution of Oklahoma inmate Julius Jones; and reduce the sentencing of Colorado inmate Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, both of whom were involved in high-profile cases.
In November Kardashian urged Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to spare the life of death row inmate Julius Jones, who was due to be executed in three days after the governor refused to see his mother.
Jones, 41, was scheduled to be executed for the 1999 shooting death of Edmond businessman Paul Howell during a carjacking.
He maintained his innocence and claimed he was framed by the actual killer, Christopher Jordan, a high school friend and co-defendant who testified against Jones and was released from prison after 15 years.
Speaking out: Kardashian made her thoughts on the scheduled execution clear in a series of tweets shared with followers last November
Kardashian, an outspoken advocate of criminal justice reform in recent years, said they were all ‘anxiously waiting’ for a decision from Governor Stitt.
The state’s Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-1 to recommend Stitt grant clemency to Jones and commute his sentence to life in prison.
Stitt later commuted Jones’ death sentence to life without parole – just four days before his scheduled execution.
The latest: In December Kardashian (L) thanked Colorado Gov. Jared Polis after he reduced the sentence of truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos (R) to 10 years from 110 years in connection with a deadly 2019 crash
Thank you: Kardashian took to Instagram Stories to show her gratitude to the governor for his actions in the case, that was the focus of national attention
The following month Kardashian thanked Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday after he reduced the sentence of truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos to 10 years from 110 years in connection with a deadly 2019 crash.
The TV personality took to Instagram Stories to show her gratitude to the governor for his actions in the case, that was the focus of national attention.
‘Thank you @Govofco for taking action to reduce Mr. Aguilera-Mederos sentence!’ Kardashian said. ‘While his new sentence is 10 years, he will now have an opportunity to come home in five years and be with his son and wife.’
Appreciation: Kardashian also shared a copy of the official executive order, thanking the governor for his actions in the case
Kardashian said that ‘this case was a clear example of why mandatory minimums don’t work and need to be abolished,’ adding that she was ‘grateful to Governor Polis for his empathy and leadership on this case.’
She also shared a copy of the official executive order, thanking the governor for his actions in the case.
The governor said in a commutation letter to Aguilera-Mederos, ‘The length of your 110-year sentence is simply not commensurate with your actions, nor with penalties handed down to others for similar crimes.
Speaking out: Last year Kardashian took to Instagram to state her support for the truck driver
‘There is an urgency to remedy this unjust sentence and restore confidence in the uniformity and fairness of our criminal justice system, and consequently I have chosen to commute your sentence now.’
Aguilera-Mederos, 26, will be eligible for parole beginning December 30, 2026, as result of the commuted sentence.
He was initially sentenced to 110 years in prison December 13 by Judge Bruce Jones, who cited that state law mandated the sentencing, adding, ‘I will state that if I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence,’ according to The Denver Post.
Aguilera-Mederos said in court testimony that in the April 25, 2019 crash on Interstate 70 in Lakewood, Colorado, the brakes on his semitrailer which he was transporting lumber in did not work, causing the truck to careen into vehicles ahead, leading to an explosive pileup in which four people were killed and six people were injured.
The people killed in the crash were identified as Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24; William Bailey, 67; Doyle Harrison, 61; and Stanley Politano, 69.
Triumph: Kardashian has also successfully petitioned for the release of elderly grandmother Alice Marie Johnson after she was sentenced to life in prison for drug related offences.
Salvation: Kardashian posed with Johnson months after her life sentence for a non-violent drug conviction was commuted by then US President Donald Trump
Kardashian has also successfully petitioned for the release of elderly grandmother Alice Marie Johnson after she was sentenced to life in prison for drug related offences.
Johnson – a single mother struggling to provide for her five children – acted as a go-between and relayed messages to drug dealers, but claims she never sold narcotics during her involvement with a group who sold cocaine to Tennessee.
Johnson, along with 14 others were arrested on drug and money laundering charges in 1993.
During the trial, 10 of the defendants testified against her in exchange for reduced or dropped charges.
Her sentence was later commuted by then US President Donald Trump following a meeting with Kardashian at the White House.
Kardashian enlisted her legal team to help in Johnson’s case as well as Cyntoia Brown, a former child sex slave who killed her abuser when she was 16.
Brown’s case went viral this week when it emerged she had already served 13 years of a life sentence, and the now 29-year-old has secured the backing of the Kardashian in her clemency campaign.
Then 16-year-old Brown was sex trafficked by a pimp named Kutthroat who was physically, sexually and verbally abusive and eventually sold her to 43-year-old Nashville realtor Johnny Allen, a court heard during her trial in 2004.
Brown, who feared that former Army sharp shooter Allen planned to kill her, eventually grabbed one of her captor’s guns and killed him, Fox17 reported at the time.
Tweeting in 2017, Kardashian wrote: ‘The system has failed. It’s heart breaking to see a young girl sex trafficked then when she has the courage to fight back is jailed for life!
‘We have to do better & do what’s right. I’ve called my attorneys yesterday to see what can be done to fix this. #FreeCyntoiaBrown’.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk