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Vol. 82/No. 19 May 14, 2018
Rap artist Meek Mill freed — case exposes US criminal ‘justice’ system
BY JANET POST
PHILADELPHIA — Meek Mill, an internationally known African-American rap
artist, was released on bail from the state penitentiary in Chester
April 24. Upon hearing the rumor he would be freed, hundreds gathered
outside the prison, including nearby neighbors, some holding “Free Meek
Mill” signs.
Mill, 30, had been in prison since November 2017, thrown back behind
bars on accusations of probation violations related to a conviction when
he was 19. In 2008 he was jailed for eight months and then put on
probation for five years after Philadelphia cops stopped him on the way
to a store, beat him and framed him up on charges of possessing drugs
and a weapon.
Mill has been repeatedly arrested and dragged into court by Common Pleas
Court Judge Genece Brinkley for alleged probation violations over the
last 10 years. In November she sentenced him to another two to four
years, against the recommendations of both city prosecutors and Mill’s
parole officer and in spite of the fact the charges she based her ruling
on were dropped.
Thousands of workers and young people around the country took up the
“Free Meek Mill!” campaign, organizing protests, petitions and forums.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said they ordered Mill released on bail
because the credibility of the 2008 arresting cop has been seriously
compromised, and prosecutors now support a new trial. Reginald Graham,
the cop who arrested Mill in 2008, was the only witness against him at
his trial. Last fall Graham’s name surfaced on a previously concealed
list kept by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office of some two
dozen cops “with a history of lying, racial bias, or brutality.” And
another cop who was present when Mill was arrested swore in an affidavit
that Graham lied when he said Mill pointed a gun at him.
Mill has won broad support from artists and sports figures. Michael
Rubin, an owner of the Philadelphia 76ers NBA team — Mill’s favorite
basketball team — and actor Kevin Hart visited him in prison just hours
before he was freed. Rubin had visited Mill earlier in April, along with
Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots. Players Joel Embiid,
Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz also visited Mill, and sported their
“Free Meek Mill” T-shirts in public.
After he was released, Mill joined Rubin, who had a helicopter waiting.
They flew to a 76ers playoff game here. The Wells Fargo Arena announcer
said, “Welcome home, Meek Mill!” over the loudspeaker. He was cheered by
a sold-out crowd as he rang the pregame ceremonial bell wearing a Joel
Embiid jersey.
Mill’s release has been a big topic of discussion among workers here.
“This is just awesome!” one Walmart worker told the Militant. Kevin
Johnson, another Walmart worker, said, “With the release of Meek Mill, I
hope that our justice system has to take a new approach on its probation
system.”
About one-third of Pennsylvania’s 50,000 prisoners are workers on
probation or parole who’ve been sent back to jail. In 2015 there were
183,000 people on probation here. The U.S. has the world’s highest
incarceration rate — 22 percent of the world’s prison population, and
disproportionately African-American.
“The specifics of Meek’s case inspired me to write this,” Mill supporter
and performer Jay-Z wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times last fall.
“But it’s time we highlight the random ways people trapped in the
criminal justice system are punished every day. The system treats them
as a danger to society, consistently monitors and follows them for any
minor infraction — with the goal of putting them back in prison.”
After his release, Mill told NBC Nightly News, “I ain’t feel free since
I caught this case at the age of 19; I’m 30 now.” He spoke about how he
hoped his fight would help others still in prison.
“I got a lot of important people depending on me,” he said. “And I’m not
talking about them people, public officials, I’m talking about the men
that’s depending on me going through the same thing I’m going through.”
Related articles:
After nearly 45 years Herman Bell released from prison
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