Kim Kardashian Is Releasing a Documentary About Her Fight for Criminal Justice Reform
In 2018, Kim Kardashian West turned her massive platform toward an unexpected cause: criminal justice reform. That year Kardashian West petitioned President Trump to commute the prison sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a woman who’d been incarcerated since 1996 for a nonviolent drug charge. Kardashian West’s lobbying led to Johnson's release after Trump commuted her sentence, but the celebrity’s fight for criminal justice reform hasn’t stopped since then—and audiences will soon get a much closer look at her work.
The reality star is releasing a documentary, Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project, that will take viewers behind the scenes of her advocacy work. Viewers will follow Kardashian West and a team of legal experts as they examine four cases in which prisoners may have been unfairly sentenced. The two-hour documentary premieres on Oxygen on April 5 at 8 p.m.
“There are a lot of people who deserve a second chance, but many do not have the resources to make it happen,” Kardashian West said in a statement released by Oxygen. “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.”
From what we’ve seen so far, the documentary is a revealing look at the effort that goes into getting pardons in cases of unfair sentences, and how far Kardashian West has gone to learn about the issue. In the trailer, the KKW mogul speaks with prisoners who had been handed life sentences for nonviolent offenses. She also lobbies public officials and collaborates with legal teams to facilitate earlier releases. (You’ll have to watch to find out if she’s successful.)
The documentary is only two hours, but it covers a life-changing experience for Kardashian West. “I went into this knowing nothing, and then my heart completely opened up,” she says in the trailer. “People deserve a second chance.”
This documentary won’t be the last we see of the star’s work in criminal justice reform. In an interview with Vogue last April, Kardashian West revealed that she plans to become a lawyer and will take the bar exam in 2022. She made the decision to pursue law after seeing a “really good result” with her work on Johnson’s case. “I’ve always known my role, but I just felt like I wanted to be able to fight for people who have paid their dues to society,” she told Vogue. “I just felt like the system could be so different, and I wanted to fight to fix it, and if I knew more, I could do more.”
Caitlyn Jenner also recently revealed the ambitious plans her former step-daughter has for after her law studies.
“Kim told me she wants to start her own law firm and work on prison reform and try to hire as many former inmates [who’ve studied law], to help the prison system,” Jenner told OK! Magazine.
Watch the trailer for Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project below.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
