Matthew Charles, who is released under new prison reform laws, reveals the reality TV star reached out to him after learning of his situation and decided to help him out in an 'unbelievable' way.
- Mar 12, 2019
AceShowbiz - Kim Kardashian's work for prison reform doesn't stop after the First Step Act passed. The 38-year-old socialite recently helped a former inmate who had his housing application denied because of his background after being granted clemency.
Matthew Charles, the first prisoner to be released under new prison reform laws, reveals the reality TV star promised to pay his rent for the next five years. Matthew took to Facebook on Sunday, March 10 to share his happiness at the news.
"I just received the most wonderful news tonight that I just had to share with everyone. Kim Kardashian-West, through Tracy, said they heard about my situation. Was moved and has decided to help me. And to me in an unbelievable way," he wrote.
Matthew added, "Kim did not do this for attention or publicity, but I had to share it, because it's to good not to, and my heart is about to burst with happiness, that I wish you to rejoice in this news with me. And many of your responses about the outcome of my dilemma prophesied it."
Tim Hardiman, a senior producer at CMT in Nashville, tells Us Weekly that "Kim reached out privately to Matthew yesterday after hearing he was having a hard time getting approved for an apartment and has generously offered to pay five years of his rent."
Tim says Matthew "was overwhelmed by Kim's offer and graciously accepted. Her generosity will allow him to save enough money to eventually put a down payment on a house. It's truly changed his life." Matthew said on Monday night, "Now, all... I have to do is find the place."
According to the Nashville Tennessean, Charles was released on January 3 as a part of President Donald Trump's First Step Act. He was initially sentenced to 35 years in prison in 1996 for a non-violent drug and weapons charges.
He was released in 2016 for a brief period of time due to the Fair Sentencing Act which "eliminates the five-year mandatory minimum prison term for first-time possession of crack cocaine." He, however, returned to prison in 2018 after an appeals court overturned a judge's initial ruling on letting him go.
That's when Kim heard Matthew's story. "Kim then met with President Trump in May of last year to speak to him about pardoning Alice Johnson, and also mentioned Matthew Charles in that conversation," Tim explains. "She later discussed Matthew's situation when she met with the president in September."
Since his release earlier this year, Matthew reportedly has been staying with a friend and has been working. His application for an apartment complex, however, was denied on March 7. "I'm pretty distraught about it because it's not allowing me to have a full second chance," he previously told the Tennessean.
Kim also advocated for Alice Marie Johnson, who had been serving a life sentence without parole as a first-time nonviolent drug offender. Alice was granted clemency by Trump in June 2018.
