On Wednesday (December 19), the United States Senate passed the much-lauded First Step Act by a vote of 87-12, paving the way for what can only be described as sweeping criminal justice.
TMZ caught up with CNN commentator Van Jones, who said the bill not had passed if it weren’t for Kim Kardashian and her celebrity.
“If Kim Kardashian had not gone to the White House and talked to Donald Trump, we would not have passed this bill,” Van told the reporter.
“[There] are going to be 50,000 fewer people in federal prisons because this bill,” he added. “One hundred percent of people who are locked up in the federal prisons can come home a little bit earlier if they stay out of trouble … fifty percent of them can come home a lot earlier.”
He also alluded to the fact that this bill will protect female prisoners from mistreatment.
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“100 percent of women are not going to be shackled and mistreated. Why? Because Kim Kardashian was willing to put her celebrity on the line for people she didn’t even know.”
The bill itself gives U.S. judges more autonomy in regards to the sentencing of drug offenders, increases rehabilitation efforts, and drastically reduces the life sentence for offenders with three convictions.
Jones also took the opportunity to address the haters who billed Kardashian’s involvement and meeting with Trump as nothing more than a PR stunt.
“Now look at the scoreboard now,” he says with a smirk. “87 votes to 12 in the US Senate … 87! You can get 87 to 12 to change the post office name.”
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You can see the full interview, above.
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