Kim Kardashian teams up with Monica to #FreeCoreyMiller

Kim Kardashian is continuing her efforts to help those who have been unjustly or wrongly imprisoned. At the urging of singer Monica, Kardashian shared her public support this weekend for rapper Corey Miller, also known by his stage name of C-Murder. The New Orleans artist has been in prison since 2009 and is serving a life sentence but has always maintained his innocence.In 2002, a 16-year-old fan of Miller’s was shot and killed outside a nightclub in Harvey, Louisiana and Miller was subsequently arrested and sentenced to life in prison. The conviction was overturned in 2003, but in 2009 a retrial found Miller guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced him once again. During Miller’s second trial, the jury was split with a 10-2 decision. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed split jury decisions but has yet to announce the implications of this ruling for those who are currently serving sentences that have been imposed by split juries.In 2018, two of the witnesses that initially said Miller pulled the trigger have since recounted their statements and said they were threatened by local police and the prosecutors to lie under oath. Kardashian tweeted details of the case on August 16 and announced that she was teaming up with Monica as well as Reform Alliance members Jessica Jackson and Erin Haney, to help secure his release.

#FreeCoreyMiller

On January 18, 2002 a tragedy occurred when a young man was killed. The next day Corey Miller was arrested for the murder.— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) August 16, 2020

Today I’m teaming up with @MonicaDenise, @JessicaJackson and @EdyHaney to #FreeCoreyMiller

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) August 16, 2020

Introduced by mutual friend Lala Anthony, Monica also wrote about Miller’s case on social media this weekend. The singer, who briefly dated Miller before his arrest in 2002, said that she spoke to Kardashian at length about Miller’s conviction and the inconsistencies in the case, as well as the now-unconstitutional split jury decision. “There are lots of issues in Corey’s case that speak to his innocence including witnesses recanting their testimony, dna not matching & a 10-2 jury! Corey deserves to come home to his girls and be the father they need, be the artist & leader he’s always been as well as spread hope to those who have also experienced this,” she wrote. Lena Waithe, Meek Mill, Anthony and many more have voiced their support of Miller’s case on Monica’s page.

 

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@cmurder & I are bonded by truth, honesty & Loyalty ! There’s never been a promise broken & I vowed to seek help! After a tearful conversation with @lala she and I spoke to @kimkardashian & I explained why I KNEW Corey was innocent... I shared that There are lots of issues in Corey’s case that speak to his innocence including witnesses recanting their testimony, dna not matching & a 10-2 jury! Corey deserves to come home to his girls and be the father they need, be the artist & leader he’s always been as well as spread hope to those who have also experienced this.. I’ve locked arms with @kimkardashian, @jessicajackson, @edyhaney and all those who believe in Corey and are ready to fight to #FreeCoreyMiller #FreeCoreyMiller #FreeCoreyMiller

A post shared by Monica ? (@monicadenise) on Aug 16, 2020 at 12:41pm PDT

Miller, who has maintained his innocence for the past 18 years, is the brother of fellow New Orleans rapper Master P. Corey was signed to his brother’s label No Limit Records and released several albums after serving as a U.S. Army combat medic in the Gulf War. Miller has continued to release music while incarcerated in the Louisiana State Penitentiary and has written two novels.Kardashian also tweeted about Steve Thomas, the teen who was killed in 2002. “My heart goes out to the family of Steve Thomas,” she wrote. “I can only imagine how hard this is and my intention is never to open up this painful wound but to help find the truth behind this tragedy.”As a law student, Kim has spent the past two years championing criminal justice reform. Her work, which began with helping first-time nonviolent drug offender Alice Marie Johnson getting her life sentence commuted in 2018, was chronicled in the documentary Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project. The doc was released in April and highlighted several of the life sentences the reality TV star and entrepreneur helped get commuted for nonviolent offenders.[video_embed id='2013382']BEFORE YOU GO: The Weeknd donates $300K to Beirut Relief Fund[/video_embed]