MiAngel Cody and Brittany Barnett may not be two names you recognize, but they're attached to the one name that you can't escape: Kim Kardashian. The two attorneys are referred to by clients as "women warriors." They have been fighting for criminal justice reform for years. After having spent their earlier careers in corporate law, both women now head successful initiatives to free nonviolent offenders.
Brittany is one of the cofounders of the Buried Alive Project. She has firsthand experience with the effects of incarceration as the daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother. MiAngel is a founder of The Decarceration Collective, an all-female-run federal criminal defense firm. So how did they come in contact with the reality star and beauty mogul?
Kim was first inspired to get into the work of criminal justice reform after hearing the story of Alice Marie Johnson. She looked into Alice's legal team, which included Brittany. When President Donald Trump signed federal prison reforms into law after Kim contacted him about Alice, Brittany and MiAngel decided to work on getting as many people out as possible.
MiAngel Cody and Brittany Barnett have long been at work to change the criminal justice system. Both women had backgrounds in corporate law before they shifted toward their prison reform work. They now work hard to free nonviolent offenders who have been subjected to overly harsh sentencing.
The two ladies have helped to free or reduce the sentences of more than 40 people. Those they helped were sentenced to life without parole in federal prison for nonviolent drug offenses. Combined, these people would have served over 820 years.
"We work behind the curtain so we see that the men and women who America has painted as the most dangerous are really human beings," said MiAngel. That ability to see humanity is what fuels this important work. "Survivorship is at the heart of each one of their stories."
As for their own stories, the two women recognize what they've overcome to get to where they are. "Growing up the closest lawyer we know that looked like us was Clare Huxtable from 'The Cosby Show,'" Brittany told Good Morning America.
"And to know that we are standing in reality and standing in our truth and in our power and to be a representation for the young Brittanys and MiAngels who may be growing up in the rural South like we did, it’s just very inspiring to know that we have this position to make a change."
The women first met in 2013 at a criminal justice event in Washington, DC. "I was walking through the halls of this event and feeling very out of place … then I saw [Brittany] and was like we are very similar," MiAngel recalled. "She walked up to me and introduced herself and we’ve been sisters ever since."
The plight of nonviolent drug offenders is something that's gained renewed attention thanks to someone who can't help but draw attention to herself. Kim Kardashian's decision to study law seemed bizarre to many. However, her connections and platform have afforded her a real opportunity to be a force for change.
Kim developed her interest in the interesting and necessary work after learning the story of Alice Marie Johnson. Kim wanted to help get Alice another chance, so she reached out to her legal team, which Brittany was a part of. At first, she was just interested in the human side of the case.
She felt out of her depth hearing the legal side of things and was grateful to be backed up by Alice's legal team. That's when Kim first considered pursuing law in a serious way.
"I just felt like I wanted to be able to fight for people who have paid their dues to society,” Kim told Vogue. "I just felt like the system could be so different, and I wanted to fight to fix it, and if I knew more, I could do more."
Earlier this year, Brittany and MiAngel embarked on a project called 90 Days of Freedom. They traveled to courtrooms around the country, trying to free those serving life sentences for federal drug offenses in response to the First Step Act. "17 people who were set to die in prison are free," Brittany told GMA. "It was a literally life-saving campaign."
MiAngel and Brittany jumped into the project concerned solely with the work at hand. They didn't have a means of funding, but then Kim stepped in to help. "We’re not at the federal defender's office with dozens of lawyers around us and we’re not at big firms with lots of resources and lots of lawyers," Brittany explained. "It’s just us."
"Kim and I have worked together on other cases that she was interested in and once MiAngel and I got started with the 90 Days of Freedom campaign and I told her what we were doing, she offered her support and it was greatly needed and appreciated," said Brittany. She believes Kim is "truly dedicated to the issue."
"I love working with her and it was an honor and a joy to link arms with her for the 90 Days of Freedom campaign."
Kim's involvement attracted headlines, but Brittany and MiAngel were looking for the focus to be on the matters at hand. For them, that meant the society these 17 people were freed into.
"The media sort of erased what is really important and that is that 17 people who were set to die in prison were walking out to what services? To what support system? What do they need?" MiAngel noted.
The 17 people who were freed were also gifted some things, including help with transportation, a stipend, and "freedom gifts" from a number of brands, including Apple and Yeezy. MiAngel and Brittany plan to devote more attention in the coming year to what reentry looks like for people who are freed.
MiAngel and Brittany hope that the media will also turn attention to the stories of these freed people. These former prisoners have gained ideas and perspective that few have at a cost no one should have to pay. They are grateful to Kim Kardashian for her part in it and encourage others to get involved.
