Tuesday, rapper Meek Mill was released from prison for a parole violation that had occurred in late 2017.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered Tuesday to have Meek Mill, born Robert Williams, immediately released on “unsecured bail.” The Philadelphia rapper was sentenced to 2-4 years in prison for violating his parole from a 2008 gun possession conviction when he was 18 years old.
The specific parole violations that led to Meek Mill’s recent incarceration were from a pair of arrests in which the rapper got into a fight at St. Louis International Airport in March 2017 and drove recklessly on his motorcycle in the streets of New York City in August 2017.
Judge Genece E. Brinkley, who oversaw Mill’s case in November 2017, was less than merciful.
Here’s the thing: Meek Mill was objectively stupid when he was 18 years old. And he’s certainly made his fair share of mistakes along the way since serving his initial eight month sentence. But the fact of the matter is that Mill’s case presents a stronger argument for criminal justice reform.
Mill is just one of thousands in the prison system for minor parole violations. According to the Marshall Project, at least 61,000 people in the nation are currently serving prison sentences for failing to follow rules like missing an appointment with a parole officer, staying out past curfew, or failing a urine test.
An argument can be made that a physical altercation at an airport or poppin’ wheelies on his motorcycle aren’t really minor parole violations, but booking performances outside of Philadelphia and traveling without the judge’s permission might be. After all, Meek Mill was sentenced to jail time for doing just that. He was also arrested for smoking marijuana while on parole, but was never charged by police.
Bottom line: We have to ask ourselves if we’re trying to rehabilitate ex-convicts who re-enter into society or continue to over-punish them for minor infractions for which some others would only receive a slap on the wrist.
