Kim Kardashian West said she is “so messed up” after a death row inmate whose case she had championed was executed.
The reality TV star and criminal justice reform campaigner had urged Donald Trump to grant Brandon Bernard a last-minute reprieve.
Bernard, 40, was sentenced to death for his role in a double murder in Texas in 1999.
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I’m so messed up right now. They killed Brandon. He was such a reformed person. So hopeful and positive until the end. More importantly he is sorry, so sorry for the hurt and pain he has caused others.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 11, 2020
Despite Kardashian West’s intervention, which was part of a high-profile campaign by Bernard’s supporters, he died by lethal injection at a prison in Indiana on Thursday.
Kardashian West, who earlier said she had spoken to the convicted killer shortly before he was due to die, said he was remorseful for his crimes.
“I’m so messed up right now,” the mother-of-four tweeted. “They killed Brandon. He was such a reformed person. So hopeful and positive until the end. More importantly he is sorry, so sorry for the hurt and pain he has caused others.
“As he was in the chair his attorney called me and they just had their last call and said this… Brandon said he loves you and wants to say thank you again. He said he doesn’t feel too claustrophobic in the chair. ”
Kardashian West, who is training to become a lawyer, said Bernard asked her to thank those who had worked to try and have his death sentence commuted to life in prison.
She said: “His main message that he learned in his life was to not hang out with the wrong crowd. That was so important to him that he shared that with the youth. It got him caught up and he made poor choices.
“The most important thing to him that he said was a gift to his mom, sister, daughters and family was the validation the public support gave to his family. His family knew him inside and knew he wasn’t his mistake he made as a teenager but he was sad his family felt shame.”
Kardashian West, who is married to the rapper Kanye West, said Bernard was an “amazing person” and added: “This just has to change: our system is so f***** up.”
Bernard was sentenced to death for his part in the murders of Todd and Stacie Bagley. Some of his accomplices were under 18 and ineligible for the federal death penalty so received jail sentences.
However another defendant, who was 19 at the time of the crime, was executed in September.