By Mieka Strawhorn | Politics | June 7, 2018 |
By Mieka Strawhorn | Politics | June 7, 2018 |
Even in the midst of #thesetryngtimes, last week was a real mind fucker that was punctuated by a visit to the White House by Kim Kardashian West to discuss prison reform with President Donald Trump. What were her qualifications for doing so? She saw something on the internet. That’s as good as a PhD in Criminal Justice as far as the Trump administration is concerned. KKW asked for a meeting with Jared Kushner and Donald Trump after seeing a video on Mic about Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old grandmother who had been serving a life sentence in prison, with no possibility for parole, for the past 21 years on a first-time, nonviolent drug charge. After seeing that video, Kim involved herself in Alice’s cause and became her advocate, setting aside money she could have put “into a shopping spree”, and using it to foot the bill for Alice’s legal expenses. And since she’s pals with Ivanka Trump, Kim used her connections to get that Oval Office meeting.
However absurd that visit was (perhaps they also compared notes on their Golden Shower preferences), the Trump-KKW summit actually accomplished something wonderful. After pardoning Dinesh D’Souza, and hinting that he’d also like to commute Rod Blagojevich’s sentence, and maybe give Martha Stewart a pass, Donald decided to offer Alice a commutation.
JUST IN: President Trump has commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old grandmother serving a life sentence on drug charges, whose cause was championed by Kim Kardashian West, White House says. https://t.co/CB5wWBlc9k pic.twitter.com/8KJasLMjFZ
— ABC News (@ABC) June 6, 2018
Alice Marie Johnson was released from prison yesterday.
"This is the greatest day of my life." Alice Marie Johnson embraces her family in an emotional reunion after President Trump commuted her life sentence. https://t.co/bMmTc5vwTj pic.twitter.com/AZeJDpaFTu
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 7, 2018
This is the moment #AliceMarieJohnson was finally reunited with her family after more than 2 decades.
— Mic (@mic) June 6, 2018
Johnson was serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense — and then @KimKardashian West stepped in. https://t.co/SX0CJhFENQ pic.twitter.com/ZcBuMd1HfT
I don’t credit Trump’s heart, conscience, or empathy for what he did. He’s courting black votes by any means necessary. And say what you will about KKW; call her vapid, call her materialistic, call her an enabler of Kanye’s fuckery, but this week - you can also call her a hero. But only if you’re Alice Marie Johnson!