A Pennsylvania appeals court repealed rapper Meek Mill’s 2008 conviction in a drug and gun case, ruling that the rapper be granted a new trial in the process.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court issued a unanimous three-judge opinion allowing Mill, born Robert Rihmeek Williams, a new trial based on uncovered evidence consisting of police corruption. The opinion also noted Mill would likely be acquitted if the case was retired.
“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.
The court also overruled a trial judge’s discovery of a parole violation that sent Mill back to prison in 2017 for five months.
Common Pleas Court Judge Genece E. Brinkley placed Mill on probation for 10 years when he was arrested in 2007 for illegally possessing a firearm that he allegedly pointed at a police officer in Philadelphia, which Mill denies.
Mill has been a symbol of criminal justice reform since his conviction case made headlines, with various celebrities, fans, and criminal justice reform advocates calling for widespread changes to the system.
“The past 11 years have been mentally and emotionally challenging, but I’m ecstatic that justice prevailed,” Mill said in a statement Wednesday.
