Last week, Kim Kardashian West petitioned President Donald Trump to commute the prison sentence of non-violent offender Alice Johnson, and on Wednesday, Johnson, who'd been sentenced to life behind bars, was released from prison after spending more than two decades there.
The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star was the one who told Johnson about Trump's decision, and Kardashian West tweeted that it was one of the most remarkable moments of her life.
In an interview with "Good Morning America," Johnson explained that she and Kardashian West had a "heart connection" and described the feeling of freedom as "amazing."
"I’d like to tell President Trump that I am so grateful for everything that you’ve done for me and my family," Johnson said. "I'd like to tell him that, please, please remember us, the others who have been left behind because there are so many like me who need to have an opportunity, the opportunity that I’ve had."
The phone call I just had with Alice will forever be one of my best memories. Telling her for the first time and hearing her screams while crying together is a moment I will never forget.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 6, 2018
So grateful to @realDonaldTrump, Jared Kushner & to everyone who has showed compassion & contributed countless hours to this important moment for Ms. Alice Marie Johnson. Her commutation is inspirational & gives hope to so many others who are also deserving of a second chance.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 6, 2018
Kardashian West's fight to help Johnson, a 63-year-old great-grandmother, was the first time she'd taken on the issue of criminal justice reform, but it may not be her last. She tweeted Wednesday that she wants to continue to work with organizations that have been "fighting this fight for much longer than I have and deserve the recognition."
I hope to continue this important work by working together with organizations who have been fighting this fight for much longer than I have and deserve the recognition.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 6, 2018
She won't be alone. Other celebrities who have championed the issue include:
Meek Mill and Jay-Z
Last month, Deadline reported that Jay-Z will executive-produce a six-part docu-series about rapper Meek Mill, who, in April, was freed from prison, where he was serving a two- to four-year sentence for violating probation. According to The Associated Press, the 31-year-old rapper, whose given name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, had been on probation for nearly a decade stemming from a drug and gun case that occurred when he was 19.
Last November, Jay-Z penned an op-ed for The New York Times titled "The Criminal Justice System Stalks Black People Like Meek Mill," in which he examined how the criminal justice system "entraps and harasses hundreds of thousands of black people every day." Pointing out that Mill was a teenager when he was placed on probation, "he has been on probation for basically his entire adult life," Jay-Z wrote. "It’s time we highlight the random ways people trapped in the criminal justice system are punished every day. The system treats them as a danger to society, consistently monitors and follows them for any minor infraction — with the goal of putting them back in prison."
Matt McGorry
In 2016, "How to Get Away With Murder" actor Matt McGorry wrote a column for The Guardian in which he implored Congress to pass a criminal justice reform bill. Explaining that at a white man of financial means, he didn't consider the criminal justice system until he read books about how it impacts a disproportionate number of people of color. "I studied, I learned and I realized I couldn’t afford to sit on the sidelines while the cycle of mass incarceration continued to rob so many people of their lives, so many communities of their most talented friends and family," he wrote. "The disparities span every step in the criminal justice system, from police to prison."
"The U.S. currently incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world," he added. "We can change this. We can stop wasting the incredible talent of millions of Americans behind bars."
Dascha Polanco
She plays an inmate on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black," but off-screen, Dascha Polanco is an advocate for incarcerated women, and more specifically, women of color, as a volunteer for the New York City non-profit Hour Children. The organization helps mothers who are serving time or were recently freed re-establish relationships with their children. "I’m starting simple," Polanco told Vibe magazine of her work with the organization. "It’s [to] help educate those incarcerate[d] of their rights with the right teams, and show they are not alone. Educating and sharing information goes a long way."
Ava DuVernay
Director Ava DuVernay was nominated for an Oscar for her film, "13th," which dissects the criminal justice system and how it impacts people of color. Its title is a reference to the thirteenth Constitutional amendment, which freed slaves and outlawed slavery. "We can do better. You can have a more deeply rooted and nuanced knowledge of the fact that, you know, every person who is in prison is not a criminal, that all crimes are not created equal, that all sentences are not equal," she told NPR in 2016, shortly after the film was released on Netflix. "The idea behind "13th" is to give people that context so that we don't make uninformed statements, that we can all work from a place of knowledge to try to get to a place where we just do better as Americans."
Beyoncé
After Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile were killed by cops last year, Beyoncé shared a letter about alleged police brutality to her personal website, stating: "It is up to us to take a stand and demand that they 'stop killing us.'
“We’re going to stand up as a community and fight against anyone who believes that murder or any violent action by those who are sworn in to protect us should consistently go unpunished,” her statement read. “These robberies of lives make us feel helpless and hopeless but we have to believe that we are fighting for the rights of the next generation, for the next young men and women who believe in good.”
Officer Blane Salamoni, who shot Sterling, was fired from the Baton Rouge Police Department this past March; the other officer involved in the shooting -- Howie Lake II -- was suspended without pay for three days, Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul said. Neither faced criminal charges.
The Minnesota officer who shot Castile, Jeronimo Yanez, was also fired from the force, but was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter.
NFL players Anquan Boldin and Malcolm Jenkins
Retired NFL player Anquan Boldin and Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins testified during a Congressional forum about mending the relationship between the public and police last year on a panel called: “NFL Players Speak Up: First-Hand Experiences and Building Trust Between Communities and Police." Boldin discussed the death of his cousin, who was killed in an incident with an officer, while Jenkins delved into the topic of juvenile mass incarceration, according to a report from The Undefeated.
Alicia Keys
In 2015, singer Alicia Keys visited Capitol Hill, where she asked Congress to reform the criminal justice system, The Guardian newspaper reported at the time. “Nowhere in the rest of the Western world are juveniles being tried as adults, or even worse, sentenced to life sentences without parole,” she said. “Is this who we are now? Is this who we want to be?"
"These are just regular boys and girls, trying to find their way," she added.
The publication reported that Keys was joined by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a champion for criminal justice reform, and news commentator Van Jones.
"Good Morning America"'s Anthony Morrison contributed to this report.
