Kim Kardashian documents ‘educational and inspiring visit’ to Los Angeles juvenile facility

Kim Kardashian took to Instagram Stories on Wednesday to document a recent visit she made to Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, California.

‘Last week I had the most educational and inspiring visit to Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in LA – my first time visiting a juvenile facility,’ the 41-year-old celebrity said. ‘I was really impressed by the young men that I had the opportunity of spending time with.

‘They were so brave to share their stories with me on their upbringings of abuse, neglect, foster care, and feeling unloved which ultimately led them to make some awful choices that led them to where they are at now in life.’

The latest: Kim Kardashian, 41, took to Instagram Stories on Wednesday to document a recent visit she made to Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, California

The Los Angeles native opened up on the different emotions she experienced in the visit, saying she felt ‘so sad and angry’ and ‘also impressed with the accountability they were taking for their lifestyle and crimes they committed.’

Kardashian said that all the boys she met ‘had made the decision to change their lives and were actively living that change’ through involvement in programs through Los Angeles Mission College, Hollywood CPR at West LA College, Healing Dialogue and Action, Asian Youth Center and Jail Guitar Doors USA, among others.

‘They were being mentored by the dedicated and committed Probation officers and men from Anti-Recidivism Coalition,’ Kardashian said, adding that ‘as these young men are reimagining their lives, it is up for us as a community to reimagine help meaningfully support them.’

Kardashian said that the visit helped boost her awareness of the community’s ‘need to be doing everything we can do to help’ the people involved and put them on a track for success.

Kardashian shared a shot of the barbed wire fence surrounding the perimeter of the facility 

Kardashian named a number of groups involved in the rehabilitation process 

Kim opened up about her experience interacting with the juveniles in custody at the facility

‘I walked away really understanding that these young adults need our attention and will be out one day and we need to set them up to succeed and not go back to the lifestyle they were so accustomed to,’ Kardashian said. ‘These are the young men that deserve a second chance and if we give them the opportunities to learn and grow and change.’

Kardashian said she was thankful toward the officials involved with the visit and the services they provide.

‘I want to thank Los Angeles County Probation and the superintendent for having me, and to the staff I met – who really believe in redemption and were constantly guiding these young men towards a positive path,’ she said.

The star posed with Los Angeles County staffers at the facility 

Kardashian also thanked prison reform advocate Scott Budnick for his efforts in helping and mentoring others.

‘Not only do you allow me to tagalong on your journey but I learned so much from you,’ she said.

Kardashian has been active in her efforts for criminal reform in recent years, as she worked with federal authorities on the prison release of Alice Marie Johnson, who was pardoned from a life sentence in 2018 stemming from a 1996 conviction on nonviolent drug charges.

Plea: In November Kardashian urged Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to spare the life of death row inmate Julius Jones (pictured) 

Killing: Jones was convicted of murder in the 1999 shooting of 45-year-old Paul Howell (pictured)

Last year, she commandeered efforts to prevent the execution of Oklahoma inmate Julius Jones; and reduce the sentencing of Colorado inmate Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, both of whom were involved in high-profile cases.

In November Kardashian urged Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to spare the life of death row inmate Jones, who was due to be executed in three days after the governor refused to see his mother. 

Jones, 41, was scheduled to be executed for the 1999 shooting death of Edmond businessman Paul Howell during a carjacking.

He maintained his innocence and claimed he was framed by the actual killer, Christopher Jordan, a high school friend and co-defendant who testified against Jones and was released from prison after 15 years.

Kardashian, an outspoken advocate of criminal justice reform in recent years, said they were all ‘anxiously waiting’ for a decision from Governor Stitt.

The state’s Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-1 to recommend Stitt grant clemency to Jones and commute his sentence to life in prison.

Stitt later commuted Jones’ death sentence to life without parole – just four days before his scheduled execution.

Speaking out: Kardashian made her thoughts on the scheduled execution clear in a series of tweets shared with followers last November 

The latest: In December Kardashian (L) thanked Colorado Gov. Jared Polis after he reduced the sentence of truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos (R) to 10 years from 110 years in connection with a deadly 2019 crash

Thank you: Kardashian took to Instagram Stories to show her gratitude to the governor for his actions in the case, that was the focus of national attention 

The following month Kardashian thanked Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday after he reduced the sentence of truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos to 10 years from 110 years in connection with a deadly 2019 crash.

The TV personality took to Instagram Stories to show her gratitude to the governor for his actions in the case, that was the focus of national attention.

‘Thank you @Govofco for taking action to reduce Mr. Aguilera-Mederos sentence!’ Kardashian said. ‘While his new sentence is 10 years, he will now have an opportunity to come home in five years and be with his son and wife.’

Appreciation: Kardashian also shared a copy of the official executive order, thanking the governor for his actions in the case

Kardashian said that ‘this case was a clear example of why mandatory minimums don’t work and need to be abolished,’ adding that she was ‘grateful to Governor Polis for his empathy and leadership on this case.’ 

She also shared a copy of the official executive order, thanking the governor for his actions in the case.

The governor said in a commutation letter to Aguilera-Mederos, ‘The length of your 110-year sentence is simply not commensurate with your actions, nor with penalties handed down to others for similar crimes. 

Speaking out: Last year Kardashian took to Instagram to state her support for the truck driver 

‘There is an urgency to remedy this unjust sentence and restore confidence in the uniformity and fairness of our criminal justice system, and consequently I have chosen to commute your sentence now.’

Aguilera-Mederos, 26, will be eligible for parole beginning December 30, 2026, as result of the commuted sentence.

He was initially sentenced to 110 years in prison December 13 by Judge Bruce Jones, who cited that state law mandated the sentencing, adding, ‘I will state that if I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence,’ according to The Denver Post.

Aguilera-Mederos said in court testimony that in the April 25, 2019 crash on Interstate 70 in Lakewood, Colorado, the brakes on his semitrailer which he was transporting lumber in did not work, causing the truck to careen into vehicles ahead, leading to an explosive pileup in which four people were killed and six people were injured.

The people killed in the crash were identified as Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24; William Bailey, 67; Doyle Harrison, 61; and Stanley Politano, 69. 

Triumph: Kardashian has also successfully petitioned for the release of elderly grandmother Alice Marie Johnson after she was sentenced to life in prison for drug related offences.

Salvation: Kardashian posed with Johnson months after her life sentence for a non-violent drug conviction was commuted by then US President Donald Trump

Kardashian has also successfully petitioned for the release of elderly grandmother Alice Marie Johnson after she was sentenced to life in prison for drug related offences.  

Johnson – a single mother struggling to provide for her five children – acted as a go-between and relayed messages to drug dealers, but claims she never sold narcotics during her involvement with a group who sold cocaine to Tennessee.

Johnson, along with 14 others were arrested on drug and money laundering charges in 1993.

During the trial, 10 of the defendants testified against her in exchange for reduced or dropped charges. 

Her sentence was later commuted by then US President Donald Trump following a meeting with Kardashian at the White House. 

White House: Kardashian met Trump  (pictured) to highlight the case of Alice Johnson, prompting her release

Reaching out: Kardashian enlisted her legal team to help in Johnson’s case as well as Cyntoia Brown (pictured in court), a former child sex slave who killed her abuser when she was 16 

Free her: Kadashian referenced Brown in a tweet shared with Twitter followers in 2017 

Kardashian enlisted her legal team to help in Johnson’s case as well as Cyntoia Brown, a former child sex slave who killed her abuser when she was 16.

Brown’s case went viral when it emerged she had already served 13 years of a life sentence, and she eventually secured the backing of Kardashian in her clemency campaign.

Then 16-year-old Brown was sex trafficked by a pimp named Kutthroat who was physically, sexually and verbally abusive and eventually sold her to 43-year-old Nashville realtor Johnny Allen, a court heard during her trial in 2004.

Final say: Former Tennessee Governor BIll Haslam granted Brown-Long clemency, saying that ‘imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh’

Concern: Brown (pictured above) said she worried the attention brought to her story from celebrities like Kim Kardashian would rub then Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam the wrong way

Brown, who feared that former Army sharp shooter Allen planned to kill her, eventually grabbed one of her captor’s guns and killed him, Fox17 reported at the time.  

Tweeting in 2017, Kardashian wrote: ‘The system has failed. It’s heart breaking to see a young girl sex trafficked then when she has the courage to fight back is jailed for life!

‘We have to do better & do what’s right. I’ve called my attorneys yesterday to see what can be done to fix this. #FreeCyntoiaBrown’.

Face to face: The reality TV star spent two hours talking with quadruple murderer Kevin Cooper  at San Quentin prison in 2018 

Innocent man: Kim later took to Twitter to reaffirm her stance on Cooper’s innocence 

Brown was released after Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam granted her clemency, saying that ‘imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in light of the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life.’

Brown later admitted that Kardashian’s support was not exactly in her best interest, especially when Halsam was considering her clemency.

‘I was so nervous and the I was like, I don’t want the governor to think I’ve done this to like try to kind of like push his hand,’ she tells NBC Nightly News. ‘Like that could backfire. That could look very bad.’

Awaiting execution: Cooper had been awaiting death since 1983 for the grisly murders of two parents, their ten-year-old daughter and her friend in California 

Family photo: Peggy, Doug, Jessica and Joshua Ryens, who was the lone survivor of a hatchet attack in 1985

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‘We had actually heard back from the governor’s counsel that the whole Kim Kardashian thing was not helping. So I was kind of fearful.’  

In 2019 Kardashian posed for a picture alongside a convicted killer on death row at the notorious San Quentin prison, after she launched a legal campaign to secure his release.

The reality TV star spent two hours talking with quadruple murderer Kevin Cooper in an ’emotional’ meeting, and  later said she was convinced he had been framed. 

The pair stood arm-in-arm to pose for a picture after the meeting. Kim, dressed modestly in a black zip-up, smiled as she rested her head on the shoulder of the towering Cooper, who adorned a beaming grin.

‘I had an emotional meeting with Kevin Cooper yesterday at San Quentin’s death row,’ she tweeted. ‘I found him to be thoughtful, honest and I believe him to be innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted.’

Cooper had been awaiting death since 1983 for the grisly murders of two parents, their ten-year-old daughter and her friend.

Ever since his arrest, Cooper has vehemently protested his innocence.

In October 2018, Kim asked then-Governor of California Jerry Brown to re-open Cooper’s case to investigate new potential evidence that may prove he’s not the responsible culprit, prompting Brown to conduct a DNA test against Cooper and evidence found at the scene.

California’s new Governor, Gavin Newsom – who is staunchly against capital punishment – ordered additional testing in February.

In custody: Brown was arrested in 1983 and convicted in 1985 for the gruesome murders of two children and two adults – but he has always maintained his innocence

Getting involved: A source said she stayed at San Quentin (pictured) for several hours meeting inmates and staff

Cooper was sentenced to death for the slaying of Douglas and Peggy Ryens, their 10-year-old daughter Jessica, and 10-year-old Chris Hughes, who was staying at their house in Chino Hills in San Bernardino County.

During Cooper’s appeal, testing of evidence, including a t-shirt believed to have belonged to the killer, was found to have his blood – and test tube preservative on it.

This indicated the blood on the shirt had been put there from inside a test tube of Cooper’s blood, not splattered on during the quadruple murder.

Advocates argue that the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department tampered with DNA evidence to frame Cooper and that this evidence – found on a t-shirt Cooper says he never wore — should be retested.

Petition: Kardashian also unsuccessfully sought to stop the execution of Brandon Bernard (right), who was sentenced to death for his involvement in the murders of two youth ministers in 1999. He was executed in December 2020

Explanation: Kardashian explained Bernard’s case in a Twitter thread shared with followers shortly before his execution 

Murder: Bernard was sentenced to death for killing married youth ministers Todd and Stacie Bagley (pictured) with the help of four teenage accomplices in Killeen, Texas, in June 1999

Witnesses also said they had seen three white men driving – what was believed to be the family car – away from the home, but cops focused on Cooper instead.

The California man has been fighting to have evidence in his case re-examined for years.

Five judges even agreed that he was wrongly convicted, but he has remained behind bars and is currently still on death row. 

In May 2019 Kardashian helped get Jeffrey Stringer from Miami out of prison after he was locked up for more than two decades for a low-level drug case.

The reality star tweeted that she helped fund his case after he had been sentenced to life in prison.

More recently Kardashian unsuccessfully sought to stop the execution of Texas man Brandon Bernard, who was sentenced to death for his involvement in the 1999 murders of two youth ministers.

The reality star-turned-prison reform advocate highlighted the case in a tweet posted in 2020, writing: ‘A terrible case has been brought to my attention and I need your help. Without it, on December 12th Brandon Bernard is going to be executed for a crime he participated in as a teenager.’

Bernard was given the death penalty in 2000 for killing Todd and Stacie Bagley with the help of four accomplices, all of whom were teenagers at the time, in Killeen, Texas.

The teens were accused of holding the Bagleys at gunpoint and stealing their car before shooting them dead and burning their bodies in the trunk.

Mercy: Kardashian said that she knows Bernard’s actions were inexcusable, but she doesn’t think he deserves to die because of something he did when he was 18. Pictured: Bernard holds a photo of himself with family in an undated photo from prison

Bernard’s attorneys had asked a federal judge to postpone his execution, claiming that prosecutors suppressed critical evidence during his trial two decades ago.

The defence said Bernard was not with his four accomplices when they kidnapped the Bagleys, and that he only became involved later because he was a low-level member of a gang that ordered the killings.

One of Bernard’s five co-defendants, Christopher Vialva, was executed in September 2020. Prosecutors said it was Vialva who shot both Todd and Stacey Bagley and made the order to torch their car.

Bernard was subsequently executed at United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, in December 2020. 

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star registered with the California State Bar to study law to become a fully-fledged lawyer, following in the  footsteps of her late father Robert. 

Kardashian was required to earn 60 college credits and then work as an apprentice at a law firm in San Francisco with the intention to take the Bar Exam in 2022.

From a sex tape to the top of rich lists: How the Kardashians turned a reality show into a money-spinning billion dollar family empire that spans social media, lip kits and shape wear

Published: 21:48 EDT, 8 September 2020 | Updated: 13:34 EDT, 16 October 2020

Keeping Up With The Kardashians was a ratings winner right out of the gate when it premiered in October 2007 on cable network E!.

It had been pitched by mom-of-six Kris Jenner to  TV host and producer Ryan Seacrest who was looking to bring a fly-on-the-wall show to E! following the huge success of MTV’s The Osbournes that ran from 2002 to 2005.

Kris persuaded him that she and her children – three daughters and a son with former O.J. Simpson defense attorney Robert Kardashian and two daughters with Olympic decathlete Bruce Jenner – would be a perfect fit. 

Fly on the wall: Keeping Up With The Kardashians was a ratings winner right out of the gate when it premiered in October 2007 on cable network E!

A few months before the first episode was set to air, a sex tape featuring Kris’ daughter Kim Kardashian was leaked, generating headlines and interest in the 27-year-old.

She had made the tape in 2002 with then boyfriend Ray J but the timing of its release five years later couldn’t have been better timed. 

The publicity surrounding the sex tape considerably raised Kim’s public profile; until then she was best known for being an assistant to Simple Life star and hotel heiress Paris Hilton. 

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Timing: Kris Jenner masterminded the reality show and a few months before the first episode aired, a sex tape starring her daughter Kim was leaked, generating huge interest in the series

The E! series made global stars of Kim and her sisters Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian as well as her half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner. 

In the past 13 years, they have grown up on camera, sharing their life and loves, heartache and happiness, their changing faces and changing bodies, and the births of their own children.

More than that, though, they have taken TV fame and spun it into a huge money-making empire, with a lot of help from social media and some very clever marketing.

They mastered the art of keeping hundreds of millions of Twitter and Instagram users engaged with multiple posts a day and then found ways to make money from it.

They used their platforms to sell everything from makeup and perfume to waist trainers and underwear, while also striking lucrative endorsement deals and signing up for high-paid public appearances.  

Throughout it all, Kris has managed her children’s careers, taking 10 percent of their earnings in addition to her own fees from the TV show and its spin-offs.

While KUWTK may be coming to an end after 20 seasons, there’s no doubt we haven’t heard the last of the momager, her kids and grandkids. 

Kylie Jenner – KUWTK made her a billionaire (well, almost) 

She is the youngest of Kris Jenner’s six children but she’s also now the richest.

Kylie Jenner, 23, is the youngest but richest of the KUWTK stars

Kylie, 23, made the cover of Forbes magazine in 2019 as the ‘the world’s youngest self-made billionaire’ after she sold 51 percent of her Kylie Cosmetics company to beauty giant Coty in a deal valued at $1.2 billion.

Forbes subsequently retracted the ‘billionaire’ title reckoning that, in reality, she was only worth an estimated $900 million.

Kylie’s personal wealth came thanks mainly to her decision to start getting lip fillers when she was 18. And while she initially denied getting enhancements, she later acknowledged it and launched a collection of lip kits in 2015.

The following year, due to the tremendous success of her initial products, she launched Kylie Cosmetics. 

Kylie has also partnered with sister Kendall in a clothing line, founded her own skincare line, Kylie Skin, and released her own fragrance through half-sister Kim Kardashian’s KKW Beauty.  

Kim Kardashian – Game app, shapewear and beauty products add up to $900 million

It can certainly be argued that without her sex tape, she and her family might never have achieved unimaginable wealth.

But while Kim Kardashian Superstar raised her profile, Kim, 39, made sure to capitalize on every opportunity that came her way subsequently.

Kim, 29, earns up to  a rumored $1 million for a paid Instagram post

Unquestionably the star of her family’s reality show, her televised 2011 wedding to NBA pro Kris Humphries was a ratings blockbuster. Her divorce and subsequent marriage to rapper Kanye West kept fans fascinated by her private life.

Forbes estimates Kim’s fortune to be $900 million.

In 2014, she launched mobile game app Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and it made $1.6 million in the first five days after its release. In 2015, she released her own range of Kimojis.

In addition to her TV fees, paid endorsements and appearances, the bulk of Kim’s wealth comes thanks to her KKW Beauty company. 

In 2019, the Product line raked in $100 million and she gained $200 million by selling a 20 percent stake in the company to Coty, the same company that bought Kylie’s brand. 

Her SKIMS shapewear launched last year is also a huge revenue generator and she can earn up to $1 million for a paid Instagram post. 

Kris Jenner – the momager takes her cut to the tune of $90 million (at the very least) 

As her daughters’ manager, Kris, 64, get a 10 percent cut of each of their earnings

Kris, 64, is the mastermind behind everything Kardashian, and that’s how she makes her fortune.

In 2018, Forbes reckoned her net worth to be $37.5 million but it’s certainly grown plenty since then with some placing her true net worth at somewhere between $90 and $140 million.

The bulk of her income comes from her 10 percent fees as the manager of her children’s careers.

She also has stakes in some of her kids’ companies; for example, when Kylie sold her cosmetics company in 2019, Kris pocketed $60 million from the deal, Forbes reported.

Khloe Kardashian – denim and workouts bring her an estimated $50 million

Khloe Kardashian, 36, has dramatically transformed her look during the series

Khloe, 36, has carved out her own niche in the Kardashian family marketplace.

She is perhaps the sister who has most transformed their look in recent years, almost to the point of being unrecognizable.

Her fitness regimen in the wake of her divorce from Lamar Odom helped land her her own TV show Revenge Body, and she also hosted the TV chat show Kocktails With Khloe.

In 2016, she founded Good American, which began with a line of jeans and has since expanded to include bodysuits, activewear and swimwear. 

Kourtney Kardashian – lifestyle website helps Poosh her earnings to upwards of $35 million

Kourtney Kardashian, 41, makes most of her money from the TV show

Kourtney, 41, the eldest of the Kardashian siblings, is most reliant on the TV show for her income.

However, like her sisters, she makes money with paid product endorsements and paid Instagram posts.

In 2017 she partnered with fashion retailer Pretty Little Thing.

Then last year, Kourtney launched her lifestyle website Poosh where companies can sell their products directly to consumers attracted to Kourtney’s brand.  

Kendall Jenner – modeling career enhanced TV fame for $30 million net worth

Kendall Jenner, 24, earns millions from her modeling career

Kendall, 24, turned her attention several years ago to trying to fulfill her dream of becoming a fashion model.

Thanks to her TV and social media celebrity, she won contracts with some of the world’s top brands making her the highest-paid model of 2018, according to Forbes.

Forbes estimated her net worth at $22.5 million but it’s only increased since then.

She has also teamed up with younger sister Kylie for clothing, jewelry and swimwear lines and like the rest of her sisters, she gets plenty of paid endorsement work.

Rob Kardashian – sporadic TV appearances net him $10 million

Rob, 33, is the only boy in the family of girls and has played a much more low-key role in the KUWTK world.

Initially featuring on the reality show, he subsequently retreated from the spotlight as he battled a number of health issues.

He had his won sock company Arthur George and in 2016, he agreed to star in a spin-off Rob & Chyna, that followed his relationship with fiancee Blac Chyna and the birth of their daughter Dream.

His estimated $10 million net worth comes mostly from his TV appearance fees.