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Jay-Z decided to speak out against Meek Mill once again after opening up during his previous tour stops during his 4:44 tour.
He wrote an op-ed for the New York Times speaking out against the criminal justice system following a judge’s decision to send Meek Mill back to jail.
On the surface, this may look like the story of yet another criminal rapper who didn’t smarten up and is back where he started. But consider this: Meek was around 19 when he was convicted on charges relating to drug and gun possession, and he served an eight-month sentence. Now he’s 30, so he has been on probation for basically his entire adult life. For about a decade, he’s been stalked by a system that considers the slightest infraction a justification for locking him back inside.
What’s happening to Meek Mill is just one example of how our criminal justice system entraps and harasses hundreds of thousands of black people every day. I saw this up close when I was growing up in Brooklyn during the 1970s and 1980s. Instead of a second chance, probation ends up being a land mine, with a random misstep bringing consequences greater than the crime. A person on probation can end up in jail over a technical violation like missing a curfew.
Hova along with many others have spoke out against the decision.
Meek Mill has officially filed a motion to be released from prison and for his probation to be terminated. He and his judge are also asking for the recusal of Judge Brinkley from making any decisions on the rapper in the future.
Ebro in the Morning talked to his lawyer Joe Tacopina recently to detail the next steps in the case.
Watch below.