Crime

Kim Kardashian quietly helped free a large group of prison inmates

ROLLINGOUT.COM — The reality TV mogul and key component of the 10-year-old blockbuster series “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” has been secretly financing operations that have led to securing the freedom of a large group of prison inmates who were serving life sentences for low-level drug convictions.

Published

5 years ago

May 10, 2019

Oakland Post

By Terry Shropshire

Kim Kardashian West, who has until now been known mostly famous for porn tapes, naked photos and plastic surgery, has been undergoing a metamorphosis of her image.

Terry Shropshire

The reality TV mogul and key component of the 10-year-old blockbuster series “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” has been secretly financing operations that have led to securing the freedom of a large group of prison inmates who were serving life sentences for low-level drug convictions.

Kardashian’s money has helped legal advocates and justice reform proponents secure the freedom of 17 prisoners in the last 90 days, TMZ has learned. All of the former inmates were serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The operation is called the “90 Days of Freedom” campaign and was launched by Kardashian’s personal attorney, Brittany K. Barnett. She has teamed up with lawyer MiAngel Cody of The Decarceration Collective. This is all part of the First Step Act, which Kardashian convinced the president to sign in 2018. The First Step Act works to release prisoners who were serving exorbitantly-long prison sentences that were out of proportion to the crimes committed.

Here are a few examples of the folks the “90 Days of Freedom” program has been able to free, according to TMZ:

Jamelle Carraway, is free and living in Chicago after serving 11 years of a life sentence for cocaine possession;
Eric Balcom is in Florida for the first time in 16 years.
Terrence Byrd, 50, is now free after serving half of his life in prison.

According to the publication, Kardashian and the lawyers she’s teamed up with have several more cases they are working on.

This article originally appeared in Rollingout.com.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

5 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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California Black Media

Anti-Theft Bill with Jail-Time Requirement Gets Wide Ranging Support

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24. Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Published

6 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman speaks as Asm. James Ramos (D-San Bernardino), left, stands beside him at a news conference in Sacramento concerning retail theft across the state.

By California Black Media

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24.

Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Co-authored by Assemblymembers James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) and Devon Mathis (R-Tulare), AB 1772 would require jail time “of one to three years for theft crimes depending upon the circumstances.

“Offenses would include grand theft, theft from an elder or dependent adult, theft or unauthorized use of a vehicle, burglary, carjacking, robbery, receiving stolen property, shoplifting or mail theft,” the bill language reads.

Ramos said the need to act is urgent.

“It’s time for us to reverse the spikes in theft crimes since the pandemic. Our law enforcement members and district attorneys need additional tools such as AB 1772. We must reverse the trend before the problem grows worse. Last year I requested a state audit of the impact of Prop 47 on Riverside and San Bernardino counties,” said Ramos.

Prop 47 is the California initiative, approved by voters in 2014, that reclassified some felonies to misdemeanors and raised the minimum amount for most misdemeanor thefts from $400 to $950.

According to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report, the rate of occurrence of petty crimes like shoplifting and commercial burglaries have increased by double digits over the last four years.

In Orange County alone, commercial burglaries have spiked by 54%.

“Our communities are experiencing an increase in retail crime and deserve appropriate action from their legislators,” Valencia said.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus thanked Ramos.

“This bill, designed to impose stricter penalties on serial retail theft suspects, responds urgently to the escalating consequences of shoplifting and related crimes on our communities,” he said.

AB 1772 supporters who spoke at the gathering included Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper and San Bernardino Chief of Police Darren Goodman. Listed as supporters are the California State Sheriff’s Association, City of Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez and Redlands Chamber of Commerce.