Everyone on death row gets a lawyer. Not everyone gets a Kim Kardashian

Rodney Reed's case was championed by the reality TV star but celebrities' role in the criminal justice system is complicated

When death row prisoner Rodney Reed found out his execution had been called off - only days before it was to occur - he was sitting in a tiny visiting room at an east Texas maximum-security prison, talking to Kim Kardashian West.

The reality TV star had traveled to the Polunsky Unit, an hour north-east of Houston, to visit the condemned man whose cause she had taken up, repeatedly posting photos and firing off tweets in support of his claims of innocence. By the time the Texas court of criminal appeals stayed the execution in November 2019, Reed's case had attracted other celebrity supporters - from Beyonce and Dr Phil, to Oprah and Gigi Hadid.