Reality TV star: Ohio prisoner should be freed
Reality TV star CLEVELAND —
Kim Kardashian West, who as of late has garnered interest for her work on criminal justice issues, said on social media Tuesday that an Ohio prisoner convicted of murdering three people is innocent.
Kardashian West, in three tweets, and posts on Instagram and Facebook, gave notice to her millions of followers what she thought about the case against Kevin Keith.
Keith, 55, has been in prison since 1994 and is housed at the Marion Correctional Institution. He was convicted of shooting and killing Marichell Chatman, her 4-year-old daughter Marchae, and Marichell’s aunt Linda Chatman, inside an apartment in Bucyrus, in central Ohio. Marichell’s boyfriend Richard Warren and Marichell’s young cousins Quanita and Quinton Reeves were shot but survived.
A judge sentenced Keith to death. Then-Gov. Ted Strickland commuted his sentence to life in prison in 2010, 13 days before he was to be executed, because of questions raised about the way his trial was conducted.
He is currently trying to persuade a federal judge in Cleveland to order a new trial, arguing that prosecutors withheld evidence. The state is fighting to have his convictions remain in place.
“I heard about Kevin Keith’s case last year & the more I learn about it, the more I believe the world needs to hear what happened to him!” Kardashian West tweeted. “He was on death row & came w/ in days of execution before the governor of Ohio commuted his sentence to life w/o parole.”
She also tweeted a screenshot of a video visit she conducted with Keith and said she was “so impressed w/ the amazing programs he created in prison to help others inside better themselves!”
“So much evidence has been uncovered proving Kevin’s innocence. I hope justice is served soon & he is released,” the reality star tweeted. She linked to a Cleveland Scene story about Keith’s case, as well as the website of a documentary in production.
While Kardashian West has been known for years for being on TV, she has increasingly gotten involved in issues involving criminal justice.
She also bent the ear of President Donald Trump, successfully lobbying him to grant clemency to a grandmother serving a life sentence without parole for drug crimes. Kardashian West also appeared at a White House event last month to promote programs for prisoners when they re-enter society.