American rapper Meek Mill has just been released from prison custody, a statement on his Twitter page confirms.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania made the decision to release him following a long legal battle challenging his conviction. The court’s decision overruled Judge Genece Brinkley, who has been criticised for the sentence, even after prosecutors said that it be overturned because of a corruption case against his arresting officer Reginald Graham.
Brinkley had denied Meek Mill bail last week and set a hearing for 60 days later. That decision was overturned today. The court also said that Brinkley may decided to remove herself from the case, according to TMZ.
The rapper was earlier arrested for popping wheelies on a dirt bike and getting into a fight, both of which violated his probation from a 2008 gun and drug case. He was then sentenced to 2 – 4 years in prison in November 2017, for violating his parole.
Since his conviction, celebrities and social media users have been protesting his imprisonment using the #FreeMeekMill hashtag.
In his tweets, Meek Mill said:
I’d like to thank God, my family, my friends, my attorneys, my team at Roc Nation including JAY-Z, Desiree Perez, my good friend Michael Rubin, my fans, The Pennsylvania Supreme Court and all my public advocates for their love, support and encouragement during this difficult time.”
While the past five months have been a nightmare, the prayers, visits, calls, letters and rallies have helped me stay positive.”
To the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office, I’m grateful for your commitment to justice – not only for my case, but for others that have been wrongfully jailed due to police misconduct. Although I’m blessed to have the resources to fight this unjust situation, I understand that many people of color across the country don’t have that luxury and I plan to use my platform to shine a light on those issues. In the meantime, I plan to work closely with my legal team to overturn this unwarranted conviction and look forward to reuniting with my family and resuming my music career.
According to Meek Mill’s lawyer Joe Tacopina, “Meek was unjustly convicted and should not have spent a single day in jail. Meek is excited to be reunited with his family, and we, along with Meek, intend to continue to shine the light on a justice system in need of reform to prevent any other citizen from being put through what Meek has endured.”