Kim Kardashian Bursts Into Tears During Final Farewell To Death Row Inmate

Kim Kardashian broke down in tears while speaking to death row inmate Brandon Bernard before his execution, sharing the emotional moment shared with viewers in the latest episode of The Kardashians.

Bernard was sentenced to death for the 1999 murders of Todd and Stacie Bagley, and remained on death row until his execution in December 2020. 

The public rallied to have then-President Donald Trump reduce the sentence during his final days in office, but their attempts proved futile and Bernard was eventually executed by lethal injection. 

In a new episode of the reality series, Kardashian revealed she was his last call before dying, saying: “I got to know him pretty well in his last few days, and I posted it all on social media because he really wanted me to share his story. 

“But sometimes, we’re able to stop it and sometimes we’re not.” 

In footage filmed just before Bernard’s execution, Kardashian – who has advocated for prison reform in recent years – cried as he described the process that laid ahead for him. 

“First thing that they'll do is push me in that chair, and I don't want to be panicking and stuff so they have to give me some kind of shot," he told her during their final phone call on the day of his execution. 

"But you don't gotta be sad." 

Kardashian spoke out about Bernard's execution on countless occasions, including just before his death, when she tweeted: "1 hour until Brandon Bernard will be executed. It’s #HumanRightsDay and here in the United States we are executing someone who was 18 at the time of the crime, was not the shooter and has rehabilitated himself. So shameful."

Speaking about their poignant conversation, Kardashian recalled: “I couldn’t hold it in, and the fact that he was calming me down from crying really broke my heart.

“This is why I do what I do, because the system is so broken. I think my goal is just sharing the process so that people can see what our system is really like and how inhumane the death penalty really is. I have to fight harder to make sure this doesn’t happen to someone else.”

Kardashian continues to campaign for changes to the US justice system, having previously expressed her concerns about long sentences given to first-time offenders and the disproportionate effect this has on ethnic communities.

In 2018, she campaigned for Alice Marie Johnson, a grandmother who was serving a life sentence, to be freed – an experience she said inspired her to pursue a career in law, having begun her legal training in 2019 before passing the 'baby BAR' in December last year.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677