Kim Kardashian Calls For Temporary Prison Release Of Uvalde Victim's Father For Funeral

Kim Kardashian has called for the temporary prison release of the father of a Uvalde shooting victim to allow him to attend his daughter’s funeral. 

She took to social media to request the temporary release of Eli Torres whose daughter, Eliahana Cruz Torres, was killed in the Texas school shooting.

The 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos stormed Robb Elementary with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, killing 19 children and two adults.

Torres is currently facing a 25-year sentence in Kentucky, charged with drug trafficking and was given the option to live-stream the funeral service but has asked to be there in person, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star heard Torres’ plea and posted an image of his daughter online.

She captioned the image: "This is Eliahana ‘Ellie’ Cruz Torres, 10 years old, and one of the 19 victims of the shooting in Uvalde, TX. Her family are desperately hoping that her father, who is incarcerated for a non-violent drug offence, be granted temporary release so that he can attend her funeral. So far their requests have been denied."

Kardashian added: "I ask the Federal Bureau of Prisons to grant Eli Torres temporary release so that he can say his last goodbye to his baby girl. Every parent deserves that right."

In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Eli Torres spoke of his grief upon finding out about his daughter’s death, and his regret at being incarcerated for much of her life.

"The choices I made, it cost me," he said.

"I could have prevented this from happening, somehow, some way, as a father. … I could have stopped it somehow. Protected her."

Kardashian has a history of helping incarcerated people and is an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform.

In 2020 she released a documentary titled Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project, where she looked to shine a light on the mass incarceration in the United States.

Using her status as a public figure she’s attempted to bring national attention to cases that have been overlooked.

In 2018, Kardashian helped petition for the release of 64-year-old woman Alice Marie Johnson, who was freed after 19 years after being sentenced for a non-violent drug charge.

In October 2019, 39-year-old Momolu Stewart was released from a facility in Washington, D.C. after serving 23 years for shooting and killing a man in 1997.

Stewart was only 16 years old at the time but was tried as an adult, however, throughout his time in prison he earned a GED and college credits. 

Kardashian met Stewart while learning more about the prison scholars program, and requested the judge review his case.