Philadelphia DA says Meek Mill should get a new trial, sparking hopes for release

Rapper Meek Mill is getting a new trial.

Fox43 reports that the Philadelphia District Attorney has agreed to give Mill a new hearing following months of appealing the heavy handed sentence levied against him by Judge Genece Brinkley.

This move by Mill’s legal team gives a promising prospect that he might soon be released from his two-year sentence and could be out on bail.

Why Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney visited Meek Mill in prison

Mill is currently serving a two- to four-year prison sentence for violating his parole stemming from a gun and drugs charge back in 2008. The sentence sparked backlash not only because many saw it as being too harsh but because the judge acted against the recommendations of the prosecution and Mill’s probation officer.

Judge Genece Brinkley has since been hit with accusations of corruption, with reports that she handed down the sentence as petty revenge for the fact that Mill had refused to put her in one of his songs

There have been several other stories of corruption surrounding the case, and ever since the sentence was handed down, Mill’s case has become a rallying cry for those speaking out against a broken criminal justice system.

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Last week, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney went to the state prison in Chester to visit Meek Mill.

According to Kenney’s spokeswoman, Ajeenah Amir, Kenney “believes [Mill] would better serve the community outside of prison, and that his case makes clear and urgent the desperate need to continue working with our partners to reform the criminal justice system.”

However, it seems like that statement is the criminal justice equivalent of “thoughts and prayers,” since a later statement clarified that the mayor isn’t actually going to take any action or support the campaign for Mill to be released immediately.

Instead, Amir said, Kenney “shares [Rubin’s] belief, nothing more than that,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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