Black attorney clarifies her project litigated release for 17 inmates, not Kim Kardashian West
To make things clear, attorney Brittany K. Barnett took to Facebook to say she and her colleague MiAngel Cody have been doing the actual work behind freeing the inmates
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This week several outlets have reported Kim Kardashian West got freedom for 17 prison inmates . But now one of the women actually responsible the work is coming forward to clear up any confusion caused by misleading headlines.
Tuesday, attorney and criminal justice reform advocate Brittany K. Barnett, took to her personal Facebook page to say that it was actually two African American women — herself and colleague MiAngel Cody, who fought to free for the inmates through the Buried Alive Project and that Kardashian is a major funder of their efforts.
READ MORE: Prisoners are flooding Kim Kardashian West with letters to help win their release
“We attempted to get grants from these large foundations shelling out MILLIONS of dollars to other organizations but would not look our way because they so-called don’t fund ‘direct services,’ ” she continued. “Our hands were full picking locks to human cages, we didn’t have time to participate in glorified begging from the nonprofit industrial complex only to be turned down.”
Barnett and Cody work on release for the incarcerated through the Buried Alive Project, which assists them through representing them in court, while also targeting legislators for policy change and also spreading awareness of the plight of the inmates, many of whom have been given sentences of life without parole.
READ MORE: Kim Kardashian reveals she plans to take the bar exam
In her Facebook post, Barnett explains how Kardashian West was a major force in helping the women out financially and says she is immensely grateful to the reality star for bringing both funding and visibility to their efforts.
“Kim linked arms with us to support us when foundations turned us down,” she continued. “We and our clients and their families have a lot of love for her and are deeply grateful for her. Regardless of who helped fund us for the past three months, in 90 days, TWO black women lawyers freed SEVENTEEN people from LIFE W/O PAROLE sentences – the second most severe penalty permitted by law in America. Only two of us.”
Barnett also encouraged the community to “reach out and see if the 17 people we helped free need anything. Welcome them home. Give them jobs. Send a care package. Amplify their voices without the sharecropping.”
READ MORE: Is it time for the Black community to cut Kim Kardashian West some slack?
She credited Kardashian West for not trying to mislead the public about her role in the project but criticized the media, for twisting it so that it seemed as though her role was different.
“Kim has always been very clear in her role. It’s the media that spins it around — not Kim,” she explained. “We need Kim’s support and the support of anyone else who wants to join this fight.”
You can check out her full post here.
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