Republished August 27, 2019 - 10:15 AM
Original Publication Date August 27, 2019 - 9:21 AM
PHILADELPHIA - The Latest on Meek Mill's decade-old legal battle (all times local):
12:15 p.m.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner says rapper Meek Mill has been punished "excessively" for a decade-old case that was finally resolved Tuesday.
The 32-year-old rapper, born Robert Williams, has spent most of his adult life on probation or in prison in connection with his 2007 arrest. An appeals court overturned his conviction last month.
Krasner says he agreed to a deal that required Williams to plead guilty to a misdemeanour gun charge Tuesday to end the legal limbo.
He says the criminal justice system needs to "evolve" like Williams has since his arrest as a teenager.
Williams has always acknowledged having a gun that day but denies pointing it at police or selling drugs.
He started a foundation to promote criminal justice reform and says he wants to continue to "help the people that helped me."
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This story has been corrected to show Meek Mill was arrested in 2007, not 2006.
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9:45 a.m.
Rapper Meek Mill has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour gun charge to resolve a case that's kept him on probation for most of his adult life.
The 32-year-old rapper, born Robert Williams, reached the plea agreement in Philadelphia on Tuesday after an appeals court threw out his conviction last month.
He'd already served about two years in prison over the 2007 case, and a judge decided he wouldn't spend any additional time behind bars.
The negotiated plea comes after both sides questioned the credibility of the arresting officer.
The defence also accused the trial judge of bias for sending the entertainer back to prison over minor probation violations.
Williams has called the 12-year ordeal "mentally and emotionally challenging," but says millions of people face the same issues. He has helped start a foundation to promote criminal justice reform.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019