Kim Kardashian, 39, admitted that she is “so messed up” after Brandon Bernard‘s execution. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star fought tirelessly and even appealed to Donald Trump to commute the 40-year-old inmate’s death sentence, but Bernard was still executed by lethal injection at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana amid nationwide outcries on Dec. 10. Kim revealed her heartbroken reaction over the execution, which was carried out over Bernard’s role in a double murder that took place when he was 18 years old.
As he was in the chair his attorney called me and they just had their last call and said this…
Brandon said he loves you and wants to say thank you again
He said he doesn’t feel too claustrophobic in the chair. 💔— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 11, 2020
“I’m so messed up right now. They killed Bernard. He was such a reformed person. So hopeful and positive until the end. More importantly he is sorry, so sorry for the hurt and pain he has caused others,” Kim tweeted on Thursday evening, after revealing earlier that day she had “lost it” during a phone call with Bernard. The E! star went on to share what Bernard’s attorney told the reality television star-turned-lawyer.
“As he was in the chair his attorney called me and they just had their last call and said this… Bernard said he loves you and wants to say thank you again He said he doesn’t feel too claustrophobic in the chair,” the SKIMS owner revealed. She added, “Bernard wanted me to tell every single person who worked on his behalf supporting him in any way a huge thank you. He was certain he was gonna have the chance to tell you all himself and write you all letters but he told me to tell you all how grateful he is for you!”
His main message that he learned in his life was to not hang out with the wrong crowd. That was so important to him that he shared that with the youth. It got him caught up and he made poor choices.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 11, 2020
Kim then shared what was Bernard’s “main message that he learned in his life,” which “was to not hang out with the wrong crowd.” In 1999, Bernard — then 18 years old — had participated in what was supposed to be a robbery of married youth ministers Todd and Stacie Bagley with four other teenagers in Texas. Kim continued, “That was so important to him that he shared that with the youth. It got him caught up and he made poor choices.”
“The most important thing to him that he said was a gift to his mom, sister, daughters and family was the validation the public support gave to his family. His family knew him inside and knew he wasn’t his mistake he made as a teenager but he was sad his family felt shame,” Kim continued in another tweet. “With the public support he felt the shame could go away and it validated him to his family that the world also knew he was better then his teenage self.”
With the public support he felt the shame could go away and it validated him to his family that the world also knew he was better then his teenage self.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 11, 2020
Kim recalled Bernard’s love of “classical music” and his mastery of crochet — “if someone just saw his cell they would think it was a grandmas cell” — before she led up to her final though on the justice system in the U.S., which has now carried out its ninth federal execution of 2020. “I could go on and on about what an amazing person Brandon was. I do know he left this earth feeling supported and loved and at peace. This just has to change: our system is so f–ked up,” Kim concluded.
With the public support he felt the shame could go away and it validated him to his family that the world also knew he was better then his teenage self.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) December 11, 2020
Bernard was convicted of murder at just 18 years old, following the deaths of the Bagleys. On the day of the robbery scheme, Bernard and another teenager, Terry Brown (then 17 years old), had separated from the group that carjacked the Bagleys and locked them in their car trunk.
The purported ringleader of the robbery scheme, Christopher Vialva (then 19), had “insisted that the young men needed to kill the Bagleys” and later shot the victims, which killed Mr. Bagley but left Ms. Bagley unconscious, according to the Justice Department (per NYT). Vialva then allegedly “told the others to burn the car,” leading Bernard to help set fire to the vehicle afterwards under the impression that both victims were already dead, according to what Bernard said in court filings that The New Yorker cited. While prosecutors said it was smoke inhalation that led to Ms. Bagley’s death, Bernard’s defense team hired an independent medical examiner who determined that she was already “medically dead” from the gun shot.
Out of the nine surviving jurors from Bernard’s case, five have revealed they would’ve taken back their verdict. One of them, Calvin Kruger, argued that Bernard was “not the ringleader behind these offenses, but a follower” and instead advocated for a life sentence, according to CBS News. At his execution, Bernard apologized to the family of the Bagley couple.