U.S rapper, Meek Mill, has released a statement after it was reported he was set to be released from prison on Tuesday.
At the time of writing, TMZ has claimed the rapper will be a free man ‘within hours’ after appealing his original two-year sentence in December last year for violating probation.
The website reports the Supreme Court of PA made the decision to overrule Judge Genece Brinkley’s conviction after Brinkley was criticised for ‘holding a grudge’ against the defendant and ‘keeping him in prison’ by denying the rapper’s bail last week, even though prosecutors were asking that his conviction be overturned ‘because of a dirty cop’.
Meek spoke to TMZ and thanked God, his family, friends, attorneys, his fans and team at Roc Nation ‘including Jay-Z’.
‘While the past five months have been a nightmare, the prayers, visits, calls, letters and rallies have helped me stay positive,’ Nicki Minaj’s ex added.
‘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.’
In November Meek was sentenced to minimum two years as Common Pleas Court Judge Genece E. Brinkley ruled that he had violated probation from a 2008 drug and weapons case after being arrested for fighting at a St. Louis airport in March, and again in August for recklessly driving his motorcycle in NYC.
Both of the 2016 cases were dropped but the Brinkley reportedly claimed the arrests alone were violations.
Mill also violated his probation in 2015 after leaving the state of Pennsylvania for a gig without getting approval from the court.