What is the petition to help save Brandon Bernard?

A PETITION to stop Brendan Bernard from receiving the death penalty for a crime he committed in 1999 is circulating on social media.

Kim Kardashian is backing the campaign to stop his execution, having told her followers that his life should be "spared".

What is the petition to help save Brandon Bernard?

Kim Kardashian West shared a thread on Twitter calling for an end to Brendan Bernard's death row sentence, and posted a link to an official petition.

The form allows signatories to fill in their details and send their support of the campaign to President Donald Trump.

It asks for Bernard to live out the rest of his sentence in prison, and not be executed by lethal injection at an Indiana prison.

Kim ends it by urging her 67million followers "to let President Trump know that you think Brandon's death sentence is unjust" by signing the petition.

Why has the petition been launched?

Kim told Twitter, despite Bernard being convicted with four others over the killing of couple Todd and Stacie Bagley in Killen, Texas, in 1999, he did not play a leading role.

She said: "While Brandon did participate in this crime, his role was minor compared to that of the other teens involved, two of whom are home from prison now.

"In fact, Brandon was not a part of the initial carjacking that took place and was stunned when the robbery turned into a homicide with one of the other teens shooting both Todd and Stacie in the head."

She said he made "the terrible decision to comply" with the other teens by setting their bodies alight.

Kim added: "Although all five teens were black, 11 of the 12 jurors were white. This, coupled with the misleading and incomplete information the jury was given."

When is Brandon Bernard due to be executed?

Bernard was sentenced to death in June 2000, when he was still a teenager.

He is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on December 10, 2020.

One of Bernard's co-defendants, Christopher Vialva, was executed on September 22.

An attorney acting in Bernard's defence has asked a judge to postpone his execution on the grounds that mitigating evidence had not been presented to the court at his trial in 2000.

If the request is not granted, Bernard's death sentence is set to be carried out on December 10.

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