March 14, 2018
Those who have called for Meek Mill's release since his incarceration on probation violations last fall may soon get their wish.
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office filed a motion in Common Pleas Court on Wednesday that states "there is a strong showing of likelihood of [Meek Mill's] conviction being reversed" because of allegations that the rapper's arresting officer in the case lied under oath at his 2008 trial.
The office also said that District Attorney Larry Krasner will not oppose the star rapper's release on bail pending an appeal for post-conviction relief, filed last month by Mill's attorneys. A post-conviction hearing is set for Monday, April 16.
Last month, Mill's attorneys submitted affidavits from two former Philadelphia police officers that questioned the credibility of Mill's arresting officer, Reggie Graham.
One of the affidavits included a sworn statement that accused Graham, the lone witness to testify during Mill's trial in a decade-old gun and drugs case, of lying on the stand.
Graham, who is reportedly retired from the police force, was included on a secretive list of former and current police officers whose court testimonies were deemed unreliable by the D.A.'s office because of questions over their credibility. The list was compiled last year under former D.A. Seth Williams, who has since been convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison.
Mill, a North Philly native whose legal name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, was sentenced in November to 2 to 4 years in prison for violating the parole agreement that stems from his 2008 conviction. At the time, Judge Genece Brinkley cited a failed drug test and Mill's failure to obey a court order that restricted his travel to Pennsylvania.
The 30-year-old remains incarcerated in state prison in Chester.
Mill's sentencing drew outrage from social justice advocates and soon sparked a rally outside City Hall.
His attorney, Joe Tacopina, addressed Mill's case at a criminal justice forum held on Tuesday at the University of Pennsylvania, telling supporters that "Meek will come home."
Mill also gave his first interview from prison to Rolling Stone for a report published Wednesday.
