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Pitchfork: Why Did Meek Mill Go To Prison?
On November 6, Meek Mill was sentenced to two to four years in state prison for violating his probation. The Philadelphia rapper had been on probation for nearly a decade after being convicted on gun and drug charges at 21. In the days following his sentencing, #FreeMeek has remained a rallying cry, online and off. On November 13, Colin Kaepernick tweeted that Meek’s case shows the urgent need for criminal justice reform. That same day, Rick Ross and Philadelphia basketball legend Julius Erving led a protest demanding his sentence be overturned.
Over the last 10 years, Meek’s case has been overseen by Judge Genece Brinkley. The decision to punish or not punish him for probation violations is hers alone. Several Philadelphia-based lawyers interviewed by Pitchfork said that Meek’s sentence did seem excessive. Some noted, however, that no defense attorney would be surprised to see a judge “come down on” someone who, like Meek, violated the terms of his probation five times in the last six years. But with such a long period under a court’s scrutiny, it’s difficult for anyone, let alone a high-profile rapper often on tour, to not slip up somehow.
Meek was first arrested in 2007, when he was 19 and still known as Robert Williams. A year and a half later, Brinkley convicted him of seven charges relating to guns and drugs. She sentenced him to 11-and-a-half to 23 months in county prison, plus seven years of probation. In a court opinion obtained by Pitchfork, the judge wrote that although prosecutors had urged a tougher sentence, she “wanted to give him an opportunity to turn his life around from selling drugs and instead focus on his musical talent.”
Meek was out of county jail less than six months later, paroled to house arrest but ordered to earn his GED and undergo drug treatment. In December 2009, Brinkley ended his house arrest but kept him on probation. Over the next two years, the judge found that Meek tested positive for marijuana and unspecified opiate use more than once, but she didn’t hold him to be in violation of his probation.
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/why-did-meek-mill-go-to-prison/
Over the last 10 years, Meek’s case has been overseen by Judge Genece Brinkley. The decision to punish or not punish him for probation violations is hers alone. Several Philadelphia-based lawyers interviewed by Pitchfork said that Meek’s sentence did seem excessive. Some noted, however, that no defense attorney would be surprised to see a judge “come down on” someone who, like Meek, violated the terms of his probation five times in the last six years. But with such a long period under a court’s scrutiny, it’s difficult for anyone, let alone a high-profile rapper often on tour, to not slip up somehow.
Meek was first arrested in 2007, when he was 19 and still known as Robert Williams. A year and a half later, Brinkley convicted him of seven charges relating to guns and drugs. She sentenced him to 11-and-a-half to 23 months in county prison, plus seven years of probation. In a court opinion obtained by Pitchfork, the judge wrote that although prosecutors had urged a tougher sentence, she “wanted to give him an opportunity to turn his life around from selling drugs and instead focus on his musical talent.”
Meek was out of county jail less than six months later, paroled to house arrest but ordered to earn his GED and undergo drug treatment. In December 2009, Brinkley ended his house arrest but kept him on probation. Over the next two years, the judge found that Meek tested positive for marijuana and unspecified opiate use more than once, but she didn’t hold him to be in violation of his probation.
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/why-did-meek-mill-go-to-prison/
Very interesting read!
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