PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Rapper Meek Mill says he’s “ecstatic that justice prevailed” after a Pennsylvania appeals court overturned his decade-old drug and gun conviction. The entertainer says his legal ordeal has been “mentally and emotionally challenging.” He calls it unfortunate that millions of other people are going through similar ordeals without the support he’s received from his family, legal team and celebrity friends including music mogul Jay-Z and Philadelphia 76ers owner Michael Rubin. The 32-year-old born Robert Rihmeek Williams vows to continue to push for criminal justice reform “to change these outdated laws and fix our broken criminal justice system.” A Pennsylvania appeals court threw out on Wednesday rapper Meek Mill’s decade-old conviction in a drug and gun case. The unanimous three-judge opinion grants the rapper born Robert Williams a new trial because of new evidence of alleged police corruption. The Pennsylvania Superior Court also overturned the trial judge’s parole violation findings that sent the entertainer back to prison in 2017 for five months. “We conclude the after-discovered evidence is of such a strong nature and character that a different verdict will likely result at a retrial,” the opinion said. Prosecutors could choose to drop the case. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office has said it will not call the police officer who was the sole prosecution witness because of new doubts about his credibility.
Court Overturns Rapper’s Conviction
July 24, 2019 5:53 pm