Kim Kardashian West makes low-key visit to notorious San Quentin prison
The reality TV star turned criminal justice reform advocate visited the Northern California facility to garner information, meanwhile her latest cause celebre remains on death row there
Kim Kardashian West’s commitment to criminal justice reform only seems to be picking up steam as reports have now revealed she paid a visit to the infamous San Quentin State Prison.
According to TMZ, the reality TV star toured the high-security facility in Northern California on Thursday, meeting with prison staff and several inmates at the facility.
She has reportedly been visiting the prison to gain insight about programs the prison offers detainees, reports The Daily Mail. San Quentin also happens to be where convicted murderer, Kevin Cooper, who Kardashian West has previously spoken out in support of, is incarcerated. She has sought the support of California Gov. Jerry Brown on Cooper’s case.
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Last month, Kardashian West tweeted, “Governor Brown, please add Kevin Cooper to your legacy of smart, fair and thoughtful criminal justice reforms.” She also attached a link to a New York Times opinion piece titled ‘Justice Delayed, With a Life on the Line’.
Governor Brown, please add Kevin Cooper to your legacy of smart, fair and thoughtful criminal justice reforms. https://t.co/OzhZIWdxWL
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) October 7, 2018
The article highlights Kevin Cooper who in 1985 was sentenced to death for the slayings of Douglas and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter Jessica, and Jessica’s friend, 10-year-old Chris Hughes.
A t-shirt believed to have belonged to the killer, was found to have Cooper’s blood on it, along with some test tube preservative. This presence of the preservative indicates the blood on the shirt had not been splattered during the quadruple murder, but instead been taken from inside a test tube of Cooper’s blood, and planted on the shirt to frame him.
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Advocates have made the case that it was the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department that tampered with DNA evidence to frame Cooper.
Adding some weight behind this claim is the peculiar fact that: even though witnesses said they saw three white men driving the slain family’s car away from the scene of the crime, authorities instead chose to focus on Cooper, who is black.
Although it is unclear whether Kardashian West met with Cooper during Thursday’s visit, she made headlines in June after successfully campaigning for the release of Alice Johnson, a 63-year-old woman who was sentenced to life for a first time, non-violent offense.
The mother of three and wife of rapper Kanye West was widely credited for orchestrating Johnson’s release and now many are hoping she can do the same for Cooper.
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