Meek Mill’s high-profile criminal case has come to a close after the rapper pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge.
His guilty plea was accepted by a judge Tuesday morning. Mill’s other charges have been dropped, and he won’t serve more time in prison.
“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,” Mill said Tuesday on Twitter.
Mill served time for a drug and gun conviction, but it was overturned last month because of credibility concerns about the arresting officer, who was not called to testify because a probe showed he stole money on duty.
Judge Genece Brinkley, the original judge for his case convicted Mill during a nonjury trial in 2008. The judge seemed to be keeping an extremely close eye on Mill and was later removed from the case by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office was left with determining to try him or try to negotiate a plea, to the misdemeanor charges. During Mill’s testimony, he admitted that he had a gun but denied selling drugs and pointing the gun at officers.
On Tuesday, Krasner said Mill was unfairly treated in the case, which he said “exemplifies the destruction caused by excessive supervision, instances of corruption, and unfair processes in our criminal courts.”
Krasner added that Mill “has demonstrated significant rehabilitation; he has evolved and grown. This office commends him both for taking responsibility for his crime and for his work to improve society by changing a criminal justice system that too often lacks integrity, is biased, is unfair, and is overly punitive in ways that make us all less safe.”
Since the ordeal, Mill has become an activist for criminal justice reform.
CBS reports that Mill spoke to people rallying outside the hearing and he told them, “Meek freed, I’m not on probation no more. Thank you, I appreciate that a lot. And I just wanted to come up here myself and thank all the supporters because I know y’ all probably got family members in jail or people going through the same thing as me and I will continue to do what I do with the reform movement and help the people who helped me.”
Additionally, he posted on Twitter “It’s important that we now channel our energy into helping the millions that are unjustly trapped in our criminal justice system. #Justice4Millions #Reform”
