Meek Mill has ended an over a decade long legal battle today, after pleading guilty to a gun charge, in a move that ultimately avoided a costly retrial and extended prison sentence. In 2007 the Philadelphia rapper was charged on various gun and drug charges, for which he spent around five months behind bars before being given bail.
Altogether the rapper served around two years in prison for this charge, originally for an initial term of about a year and several later stints over travel violations and painkiller use. District Attorney Larry Krasner explained that the plea deal was “not an exoneration” but instead an example of correcting 12 years of “excessive punishment, excessive supervision.”
“I wanted to thank everybody whoever stood for me,” Mill said upon this news being released. “I’m very thankful from the bottom of my heart.”
The rapper was originally slated for parole back in 2013; however, due to several incidents regarding the aforementioned painkiller and travel violations, his hearings were delayed multiple times. In addition, Meek Mill’s defense team voiced several concerns over the integrity of the rapper’s case. Back in 2017, they asked for the former judge Genece Brinkley to recuse herself after allegations arose that she asked the rapper to sign with her friend’s management company.
“The past 11 years have been mentally and emotionally challenging, but I’m ecstatic that justice prevailed,” Meek Mill stated last month after his parole conviction was overturned. “Unfortunately, millions of people are dealing with similar issues in our country and don’t have the resources to fight back like I did. We need to continue supporting them.”?
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