Jacaria Stringer, whose father has spent the last 22 years behind bars for nonviolent drug offenses, will finally be able to meet him outside the confines of a Florida prison thanks to help from Kim Kardashian
A woman whose father has spent the last 22 years behind bars for nonviolent drug offenses will finally be able to meet him outside the confines of a Florida prison thanks to help from Kim Kardashian.
'I never even thought I'd get to see him out of prison, so it feels good,' Jacaria Stringer told NBC News on Friday after a judge ruled that her father, 47-year-old Jeffrey Stringer, should be released from prison.
Jeffrey was arrested and charged with manufacturing and intent to distribute cocaine in West Palm Beach in the late 1990s. He was sentenced to life in prison because he had two prior convictions on his record.
The case gained national attention as the convict was highlighted as an example of a nonviolent drug offender who faced an unfairly strict sentence based on rigid federal guidelines.
Now Jeffrey and many other convicts are getting relief under new guidelines signed into law last year by President Donald Trump.
The First Step Act allows some nonviolent offenders to earn credits for good behavior and thus an early release.
Jeffrey Stringer was arrested and charged with manufacturing and intent to distribute cocaine in West Palm Beach in the late 1990s. He was sentenced to life in prison because he had two prior convictions on his record. The now-47-year-old is seen in an old photo with his daughter
'I never even thought I'd get to see him out of prison, so it feels good,' Jacaria said after a judge ruled that her father should be released from prison under the First Step Act signed by President Donald Trump last year. She and are father are seen with family in the photo above
Kim Kardashian West, a passionate advocate for criminal justice reform, helped fund Jeffrey's case so he could go home to his family.
She called the overjoyed family on FaceTime to congratulate them after the ruling was issued.
'We did it again! Had the best call with this lovely family and my attorney @msbkb, who just won the release for their loved one Jeffrey in Miami,' she wrote on Twitter, tagging Dallas-based attorney Brittany K Barnett.
'He served 22 years of life sentence for low level drug case. He served too much time but it gives me so much joy to fund this life saving work.'
Barnett retweeted Kim's post, calling it 'such an amazing day'.
'Jeffrey should never have been sentenced to life in this case. Period,' she continued. 'America's addiction to incarceration devastates entire families.'
'So happy Jeffrey will be reunited with his family after 22 years! His life was saved today!'
Officials are still working out a release date based on Jeffrey's good behavior credits.
Barnett said her office's calculations indicate that he should get out late Monday or early Tuesday, while the Bureau of Prisons has said that he will be released on June 30.
'It's complicated,' Barnett told NBC News on Monday. 'Essentially, when you have a life sentence, it's life, you don't accrue good time credit. Now that the life is off, the prison is calculating good time. It's a complex process. We are working on it now.'
Kim Kardashian West helped fund Jeffrey's case and congratulated him on Friday after a judge ruled in his favor
Jeffrey's attorney Brittany K Barnett retweeted Kim's post, calling it 'such an amazing day'
