From cosmetics to shapewear to a true crime podcast, Kim Kardashian will be the one sister with the broadest range of influence. Kim launched her Spotify podcast on Oct. 3, 2022 with an Instagram post. The eight-episode podcast Kim Kardashian’s The System: The Case of Kevin Keith focuses on Kevin Keith’s arrest and charge for a triple homicide in February of 1994 in Bucyrus, Ohio.
28 years later and there is still no physical evidence that ties him to the crime. Kevin was arrested without any prior investigation or questioning. After a few months, Kevin was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. His brother, Charles Keith, believes that he is innocent and has taken it into his own hands to learn the legal system and gather as much evidence on his brother’s case as possible. With all the evidence Charles had, he met with Assistant Ohio Public Defender Rachel Troutman; this led to her presenting it to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. 13 days before Kevin’s scheduled execution, Governor Strickland granted him clemency taking him off death row. However, he still serves life at Marion Correctional.
The first episode, “Life & Death,” is 35 minutes long; it starts with the police tape from the crime scene. Listeners get the gist of Kevin Keith’s case and get to hear Attorney James Banks talk about how the witnesses from the scene relied only on the fact that they saw “a large black man that they saw in the project area.” In The System‘s second episode, “The Night Of,” listeners learn that Kevin has four alibis, placing him 30 minutes away from the scene. At minute 7:24, Charles even states, “During this case, they never found any, any evidence of any kind linking Kevin to the case, they checked for fingerprints. They checked blood fibers, they checked the carpet. They checked his clothes for glass fibers, I mean, anything that they could find. The BCI had stated that there was not anything to tie Kevin Keith physically to this case. He had four alibi witnesses, placing him 30 minutes away from the crime scene. They had no physical evidence whatsoever. They found him guilty.” The conversation between Kim and Kevin seems genuine; it shows how much she truly cares for the case. In the episode, she tells listeners how the case of Kevin Keith landed in her hands the night she was on Family Feud when a producer connected her with Lori Rothschild, a criminal justice reform advocate.
What is the takeaway of Kim Kardashian launching this podcast? If you have followed her for the past few years, you would know she has passed her Baby Bar and is preparing to take the Bar Exam. Kim goes above and beyond to leave her mark on the world. She is not just makeup, shapewear, reality TV, or Paris Hilton’s old stylist. It is incredible to see Kim getting involved in this; you can tell how much she truly cares about proving Kevin’s innocence. It helps to open people’s eyes to see that she isn’t just a woman that lives on our Instagram feed selling us the best sundress or the most fantastic contour stick that will never be restocked again. Even though she may not be the first to advocate for prison reformation, she is able to impact multiple audiences by using her significant influence.