We will finally get a behind-the-scenes look into Kim Kardashian West's journey to fight mass incarceration and help the United States with prison reform. That, and her decision to become a lawyer are at the heart of her new documentary The Justice Project, airing on Sunday, April 5, on Oxygen. The two-hour special will highlight Kardashian West’s pursuit of a law degree and her efforts to get incarcerated people out of prison, with help from a team of legal experts. “There are a lot of people making bad decisions after a lifetime of trauma,” she says in a trailer for the documentary, later adding, “People deserve a second chance.”
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
The entrepreneur and reality TV star has been advocating for criminal justice reform since 2017, when she learned about Alice Marie Johnson's case — a great-grandmother who was serving life in prison for a nonviolent drug offense. Kardashian West took that case to the White House, and was able to secure Johnson’s release after urging President Donald Trump to commute her sentence.
At the time, Kardashian West recruited her own legal team to help Johnson, as well as Cyntoia Brown, who was arrested in 2004 for the murder of a 43-year-old real man. Brown, a teenage victim of sex trafficking, acted in self-defense but was sentenced to life in prison. Since then, Kardashian West has decided to take on the legal system and mass incarceration for herself, and she is now on the path to becoming a lawyer. But, after years on the frontlines of helping incarcerated people commute their prison sentences, the question now remains: when will she actually get her law degree?
Kardashian West is taking a non-traditional route to that end. Instead of attending law school — which is not required to practice law in California — she is doing a four-year legal apprenticeship under human rights attorney Jessica Jackson, who has represented people on California’s death row. Jackson is now the national director and cofounder of #Cut50, a national initiative to decrease incarceration across all 50 states, that works with people who have been harmed by the criminal justice system.
In The Justice Project, there will be a focus on the cases of Dawn Jackson, Alexis Martin, Momolu Stewart and David Sheppard, four people Kardashian West believes are facing unfair sentences.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
"I want to help elevate these cases to a national level to effect change, and this documentary is an honest depiction of me learning about the system and helping bring tangible results to justice reform," she said.
Kardashian West plans to take the bar exam in 2022, and until then she will continue her studies under the supervision of Jackson and Erin Haney, the National Policy Director for #Cut50. Part of that plan includes her continued advocacy for the rights of incarcerated people. “I want to humanize as many people as possible,” she said.
Related Content:
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT