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Zephaniah Trevino: Kim Kardashian supports petition to free Texas teen and sex trafficking victim accused of murder

This isn't the first time the reality star has lent her support for a social cause; in June, she urged her fans to vote and change the criminal justice system

American reality TV star Kim Kardashian West was recently in the news over the erratic behavior of her husband Kanye West. However, on July 30, she tweeted for a cause which many would agree needs attention. Her tweet read, "Please sign this petition to show support for the innocence of Zephaniah Trevino. #JusticeforZephaniahTrevino https://change.org/p/henry-wade-juvenile-justice-facility-justice-for-zephaniah-trevino."

The post had two photos of Trevino, mostly her high school pictures, with a caption saying, "16-year-old sex trafficking victim facing life in prison in Texas because her trafficker killed her purchaser." She also put out the link to the petition to make sure people sign up. The entrepreneur also shared the details of the petition on her Instagram story.

The petition says 16-year-old Trevino has been accused of aggravated robbery and capital murder. The girl is said to have been approached by a sex trafficker in May 2019, who threatened to kill her and physically abuse her. The petition also states that she was recently exposed to drugs when she was in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. A conflict ensued between her purchaser and trafficker, leading the latter to kill the former. But, according to the statement, neither of them was charged and instead the high school junior had to bear the legal consequences. 

According to the petition, the public defender on her case is encouraging her to take a plea and serve a long sentence for a crime she did not commit. The petition has been started to ask people to help prove her innocence and expose the shortcomings of the Texas justice system. Some Twitter users immediately showed their support by saying, “Come on everyone, lets show support for the innocence of Zephaniah. We can do it !!"

One even opined on the justice system saying, "Trust me I'm sure the Justice Department got they hands on her parents life to which is why she out there like that.. trust that.. they want the whole family.. heartless a** system heartless."

A user, claiming to know Trevino and her family said, "Thank you for sharing this! I know the family - her parents used to be my youth pastors. I let them know that you shared this."

Another said, "Well that’s some really screwed up system there I’d let her free support from us here!!! Prayers."

People even thanked Kardashian-West by saying, "I truly respect the work you are doing for all these people dealing with injustice!! Keep up the great work. May God continue to allow your voice be heard."

But a few reacted with cynicism as well. One wrote: "Can we have the background of the story prior to signing this?" 

Another concurred, "There has got to be more to the story."

This isn’t the first time that Kardashian-West, who is studying to become a lawyer, has been vocal about a social issue. In June this year, quoting former First Lady Michelle Obama’s tweet on the co-relation between reforming the criminal justice system and voting, she had written, "Many of us are looking to take action and educate ourselves right now. I’m working with @WhenWeAllVote to learn more about how elected public officials influence the criminal justice system. Join us: http://whenweallvote.org."

A 2018 Billboard report states that the celebrity shared a statement about “changing gun laws” and urged her followers to vote in a Twitter post in October that year.
 
At the time of publishing the report, the petition for Trevino had 1,14,036 signatures and the numbers were increasing by the minute.