Young Thug accepts plea deal on gang charges, released from jail

Young Thug has been released from jail after pleading guilty to gang, drug and gun charges, ending the longest criminal trial in Georgia history.

The 33-year-old Atlanta rapper, real name Jeffery Lamar Williams, had been in prison for two and a half years after originally being arrested in May 2022 on gang-related charges. He was later charged with seven additional felonies.

On Thursday (October 31), he was sentenced to time served and 15 years of probation, and he was released later that night (via BBC).

“I take full responsibility for my crimes, for my charges,” Young Thug said in court. “To really everybody that has got something to do with this situation, I want to say sorry.”

He described himself as “a good guy with a good heart” who found himself “in a lot of stuff because I was just nice or cool”.

“And I understand that you can’t be that way when you reach a certain height because it could end bad… and it could fall on you.”

The trial began in November 2023, with the rapper now accepting a blind guilty plea, which allowed the judge to decide the sentence. He pled no contest to two other charges. Prosecutors had sought a recommendation of 45 years, including 25 in custody, but Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker commuted his sentence to the time already served, allowing for his release.

“I want you to try to be more of the solution and less of the problem,” Whitaker said. The rapper was also given 100 hours of community service, a ban on contact with gang members or former co-defendants and a prohibition from the metropolitan Atlanta area for the next 10 years except under special circumstances.

Young Thug was originally arrested alongside fellow rapper Gunna, who are both involved with the musical collective YSL (Young Stoner Life), which prosecutors accused of being “a criminal street gang”.

Both men denied their charges, with Young Thug having his bail denied three times.

Young Thug’s case has been significantly notable for the use of his rap lyrics to accuse him of his YSL gang affiliation in trial. Using lyrics in criminal trials has been broadly criticised “as a convenient way to inject racial bias and confusion into the criminal justice process.”

In July, the trial was further delayed when the judge was removed over misconduct allegations. The move was prompted by the rapper’s lawyer Brian Steel, who was arrested mid-trial for alleged contempt of court a month earlier.

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