Meek Mill no longer a felon after 2008 gun conviction is thrown out

Ben Kaye

Looks like Amazon is going to have to change the ending of Free Meek before it airs. As of today, Meek Mill is no longer on probation — in fact, he’s not a felon at all after his 2008 conviction on gun charges was thrown out by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

The unanimous decision handed down by three judges comes after Mill, born Robert Rihmeek Williams, won a new appeal hearing back in June. Based on the fact that the key witness in the prosecution, police officer Reginald Graham, turned out to be crooked, the panel ordered the conviction tossed. The ruling also called for a retrial with a new judge, as it’s believed the judge presiding over the initial case, Judge Genece Brinkley, was biased against Mill.

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However, TMZ reports that a new trial is “highly, highly unlikely,” according to their sources. Considering the 12-year-old case centered on a dirty cop and a judge determined to cause hell for the defendant, the prosecution doesn’t have much of an argument to make. The Philadelphia District Attorney even called for a retrial back in 2018 after Mill was sentenced to 2-4 years in prison for probation violation, admitting that prosecutors in 2008 knew Graham was corrupt.

“As of right now I’m not on probation and I am not a felon anymore 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾,” Mill celebrated on Instagram. “today was mega!!!”

In fact, the gun conviction being overturned wasn’t the only “mega” event of the day. The ruling came just hours after Meek Mill and JAY-Z announced their new Roc Nation imprint Dream Chasers. “His integrity, his honesty, his sense of responsibility,” JAY said about partnering with Mill. “Everything that he’s done leading up to this point, it showed that he can carry that weight for the next generation of people.”

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Read Mill’s complete statement (via Billboard) on his gun conviction being tossed, in which he thanks his new entrepreneurial partner, below. Also check out some clips from a CBS This Morning profile on the launch of Dream Chasers.

“I’d like to thank the Pennsylvania Superior Court judges for their wisdom and transparency in reviewing my case, unanimously overturning my conviction and granting me a new trial. The past 11 years have been mentally and emotionally challenging, but I’m ecstatic that justice prevailed.

This positive outcome wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my family, my attorneys, JAY-Z, Desiree Perez, Michael Rubin, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office and my supporters who have stood with me through the ups and downs. Unfortunately, millions of people are dealing with similar issues in our country and don’t have the resources to fight back like I did. We need to continue supporting them. I’m committed to working with my team at the REFORM Alliance to change these outdated laws and fix our broken criminal justice system.”

Premiering August 9th on Amazon, Free Meek is a five-part docu-series executive produced by JAY-Z. The program is set to follow Mill’s fight for criminal justice reform after being released from prison last year, stretching all the way back to the early days of his rap career. We’ll see if the new happy ending gets added in before the debut.

Meek Mill no longer a felon after 2008 gun conviction is thrown out
Ben Kaye