Kim Kardashian Does It Again: Sex Trafficking Survivor Accused of Killing Her Pimp Released From Prison
YouTube Kim Kardashian used her platform yet again to help one woman get released from prison after 15 years. Alexis Martin is a 22-year-old child sex trafficking survivor that was recently pardoned with other inmates amid the coronavirus pandemic. Her story was featured in Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project, a documentary focused on criminal justice reform.
Kardashian visited Martin in prison and spoke about what her life was like growing up. Martin said that her mom went to jail for drug trafficking, causing her to look after herself. She also said she grew up being sexually abused by her mother’s husband.
Alexis Martin Was Forced Into Prostitution & Sex Trafficking At A Young Age
Martin is from Akron, Ohio. She was just 15 years old when she was held captive by a pimp, Angelo Kerney, and forced into prostitution. In the beginning, Martin noted that the two had more of a father-daughter relationship until he began to rape her. He forced her to perform exotic dances, sell drugs and help prepare other girls for prostitution. Martin hoped that someone would come and free her from Kerney’s home. Someone broke into the home and shot him dead. But Martin was not freed. She was raped by her captor’s brother. Martin was charged in the murder when she was 17 years old and sentenced to 21 years in prison. Prosecutors argued that she helped plot the robbery and took part in the murder.
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Martin’s lawyers hoped that the Safe Harbor law would apply to her case. This law allows victims charged with crimes related to sex trafficking to enroll in diversion programs such as health and trauma education. This could lead to expungement from a persons record if completed. Her sentence could have been shorter if this law was applied to her case. Martin wasn’t charged with commercial sex-related offenses so this law did not apply to her.
This Was Not Her First Time Hoping For Clemency
While she received clemency this time, Martin was unlucky the first time. She appealed to Gov. John Kasich to grant her clemency. Unfortunately, he did not grant it to Martin at the time. He did, however, grant clemency to Thomia Hunter. Hunter was abused by a man which led her to kill him. It was called an act of self-defense. In Martin’s case, there was no evidence that she participated in Kerney’s murder. Investigators believed that she did play a part in orchestrating the robbery.
It seems like this time, Kardashians’ help really made a difference in helping Martin receive clemency. In the documentary, Kardashian said, “Everybody really failed her in her life and nobody really protected her when the system really could have.” We are glad that she is finally receiving some help and protection from Kardashian and the legal system now. After hearing news of Martin’s clemency, Kim Kardashian tweeted “Alexis Martin is a sex traffic survivor and I was honored to be able to share her story on the Justice Project. Thank you Governor DeWine for commuting her sentence.”
Kim Kardashian Also Helped Alice Johnson Get Clemency
In 2018, Kardashian appealed for the release of Alice Johnson who was serving a life sentence for a drug offense. She enlisted a team of lawyers to work on Johnson’s case and she was finally freed in June 2018. In 2019, Johnson even modeled for Kardashians shapewear line Skims, which shows that she is trying to help women that were wronged by the criminal justice system by giving them new opportunities. Johnson’s story was also featured in an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Kardashian plans on taking the BAR exam in 2022 so that she can become a lawyer.
It is good to see that Kardashian is helping people like Martin and Johnson and giving a voice to those who feel like they don’t have one.
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