Skip to main content

Meek Mill is free after misdemeanor plea

Philly born Rapper Meek Mill pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge Tuesday, ending more than a decade-long legal fight with his felony conviction dropped last month.

The rapper has spent most of his adult life under court supervision stemming from a 2007 arrest for allegedly assaulting a Philadelphia police officer and illegally possessing a firearm, resulting in prison sentence for drug dealing and gun possession. He was released early on parole, but was sent back to prison multiple times for violating his parole.

With doubts about the credibility of Mill's arresting officer, Reginald Graham, because he allegedly engaged in criminal actions, last month the Pennsylvania Superior Courtoverturned the felony conviction and removed the city judge who sent him back to prison over minor probation violations.

Meek Mill has said he's been treated unfairly in his case, sparking a #FreeMeek movement and nationwide debate on mass incarceration. The 32-year-old rapper, born Robert Williams, acknowledged he had a gun, but denied pointing it at police or selling drugs.

"Meek free," Mill told a crowd of supporters gathered outside the courtroom. "I'm not on probation."

"I'm extremely grateful that my long legal battle is finally behind me and I appreciate that it has sparked a much-needed discussion about probation reform and the inequalities that exist within our two Americas," he said in a statement posted to Twitter. "I have always told the truth -- that as a teenager, who saw many around me die from senseless gun violence, I carried a gun for protection. I take responsibility for that and -- in conjunction with my work on the @REFORM Alliance -- I'll continue to use my platform to make communities safer and reform our criminal justice system."

Mill thanked his supporters and said he would continue fighting for others through this REFORM Alliance, a criminal reform organization, which he launched earlier this year.

"I want to express my gratitude to all of my supporters, especially JAY-Z, Desiree Perez, Michael Rubin, my legal team and everyone else who stood by me throughout the years," Mill continued in his Twitter posts. "It's important that we now channel our energy into helping the millions that are unjustly trapped into our criminal justice system."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FRSC reinforces directive on use of google maps while driving

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has clarified its position on the use of Google Maps, The FCT Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ayuba Gora was quoted saying that driving with the aid of Google map using mobile phones is a serious traffic offence. Gora said this at the inauguration of the 2019 Ember Months Campaign by Lugbe Unit Command of the FRSC in Abuja yesterday. But, FRSC Spokesman Bisi Kazeem making reference to Gora’s comments said the Sector Commander was quoted out of context and his statement outrightly misrepresented. Kazeem said the FRSC as a technology-driven organisation is not and has never stood against the use of Google Maps by Motorists. The statement read: “To state the obvious, we have always enlightened the public on the position of the law on the use of phone while driving. “The statement he made during the flag off buttresses the position of the Corps, which is that any driver who intends to deploy the use of Google Map...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hurricane Hits Texas, One Person Reported Dead

Hurricane Harvey hit Texas as a Category 4 storm on Friday, battering the coast with 130-mph winds and torrential rain. It was the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in more than a decade leaving a massive destruction, loss of electricity, wrecked buildings and has so far killed at least one person. Scroll down to see more pictures of the incident:
Post a Comment
Read more

Kenyan Law Court dismisses case of man seeking compensation after his wife eloped with another man from hospital

  A lawsuit filed by a man seeking to be compensated by St Mary's Mission Hospital in Kenya for allowing his wife to leave the hospital with another man after giving birth, has been struck out by a law court.    The appellant had sued the St. Mary's Mission hospital at Kakamega law courts in 2020 seeking general damages from the facility on grounds that the hospital had discharged his wife and allowed her to leave with another man. After delivering and at the time of discharge, the wife of the appellant claimed he was the baby's father.   The court of appeal judges Patrick Kiage, Mumbi Ngugi and Francis Tuiyott sitting at the Kisumu Court of Appeal, empathized with the man, but disagreed that he (the appellant) be compensated by the hospital for not detaining his wife.  They upheld the lower court's judgement which added that there's no remedy that lies in the law for such grievances.   Kiage said;   "I agree that if a man takes the woman he loves to t...
Post a Comment
Read more