Meek Mill might be getting a new lease on life.
According to the Associated Press, on Wednesday, a Pennsylvania appeals court overturned his 2008 conviction on gun and drug charges. A three-judge panel unanimously granted Meek a new trial because of evidence of police corruption.
Additionally, the court overturned the parole violations that landed him back in jail for five months in 2017, which set in motion the criminal justice activism for which Meek, and many others in the hip-hop community, have taken up since then.
“We conclude the after-discovered evidence is of such a strong nature and character that a different verdict will likely result at a retrial,” the opinion said.
From the AP:
Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley had kept Williams on probation for 10 years over his arrest in 2007 at age 19. He is now 32 and has been called back to court repeatedly over technical violations of his parole, many of them involving travel issues as he has risen to fame under the mentorship of music mogul Jay-Z.
Mill, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, became a symbol for criminal justice reform after Brinkley sent him back to prison in 2017.
It’s been quite the day for Meek. Earlier, his joint venture label deal with RocNation, Dream Chasers Records, was launched, setting up Meek to become a music mogul following in the steps of close associates and artists like Jay-Z and Rick Ross, two artists he has on-going working relationships with via RocNation and Maybach Music/Atlantic, respectively.