Rapper Meek Mill wiped away tears as he spoke at a signing ceremony for a probation reform bill in Pennsylvania on Friday – saying the new law would help ex-offenders like him lead normal lives after prison.
“We all grew up on the streets. We tried to be better but they labeled us ‘criminals’, sent us back to prison,” Mill, 36, said breathlessly.
“I had to fight it all the time, to earn my respect and become who I am today. And I’m proud of that.”
The criminal justice reforms, signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro Thursday, include limiting the length of probation, sealing a higher number of criminal records from public view, requiring probation reviews after at least two years and creating incentives, rather than punishment, for former disadvantages when returning to their lives.
The law also narrows the list of minor technical violations for nonviolent offenders that previously would have landed them in jail, such as showing up late for appointments, returning home after curfew, leaving the state without permission or missing fines they couldn’t afford.
Rapper Meek Mill gets emotional as he recalls his fight to get out of jail due to technical issues while on probation. AP
Mill, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, helped lead the charge for reform after spending most of his adult life on probation following a 2008 conviction on drug and gun charges.
He was initially sentenced to five years of parole after serving seven months in prison, but he was repeatedly thrown back behind bars and given longer probation terms for violating his probation, mostly for minor technical violations.
One such violation led to Mill being sentenced to two to four years in prison in 2017, only five months of which he served, fueling his motivation to use his story to “shine the spotlight” on the criminal justice system.
“Every time I cross Ben Franklin [Bridge] to go pick up my mom to take my son to school in New Jersey, I was actually committing a crime the entire time due to a technical violation. And I don’t have any way to deal with it because I’ve been in prison all my 20s,” said the President of Dream Chasers Records, growing emotional.
Mill has been in and out of jail since he was first busted on gun charges in 2008. AP
“My son saw me in prison and I want to take my son to school. So I thought either I’m going to jail or I’m going to take my son to school and I ended up taking my son to school.”
Mill was finally pardoned in 2023 — 15 years after his criminal saga began.
Despite the reforms, judges are still allowed to “stack” probation sentences and impose probation after incarceration under the new law, according to the ACLU. who accused the bill of failing to provide an automatic or efficient way to end early trials.
Probation must be terminated unless the defendant commits a crime that presents a threat to public safety, fails to complete certain treatment or fails to pay restitution in some circumstances.
By Post wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
