00:43
Kim Kardashian West, a reality TV show star, met with US President Donald Trump and other officials, including Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, at the White House on Thursday to discuss prison reform and sentencing.
The 37-year-old is advocating for a pardon for a low-level drug offender named Alice Marie Johnson. Johnson, 63, is currently serving a life sentence in prison and was not eligible for parole. She was convicted in 1996 on eight criminal counts related to a Memphis-based cocaine trafficking operation that involved more than a dozen people. Johnson was sentenced to life in prison the next year.
Screenshot from Kim Kardashian West's twitter handle
Screenshot from Kim Kardashian West's twitter handle
Kardashian West, entrepreneur and reality television star, has over 111 million followers on Instagram, ranked sixth on the list of celebrities with the most followers. She was spotted entering the grounds of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue wearing a black suit and canary yellow stilettoes, as witnessed by an AFP photographer.
"Great meeting with @KimKardashian today, talked about prison reform and sentencing," Trump said in a tweet, accompanied by a photograph of the pair in the Oval Office, with Trump flashing a broad grin.
Screenshot from Trump's twitter handle
Screenshot from Trump's twitter handle
Fixing tough sentencing laws had been a priority of former President Barack Obama's administration, but he failed to win Congressional support, prompting a stream of presidential pardons and clemency actions.
Trump has so far taken a more hardline approach, advocating a "lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key" approach to criminal justice.
During his first year and a half in office, he has pardoned disgraced Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, a Trump supporter who was convicted of violating a court order to halt traffic patrols targeting immigrants. He also pardoned vice president Dick Cheney's former chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
(With inputs from AFP)