The saga of Meek Mill's prison sentence continues. The Philly-bred rapper was sentenced to two to four years in prison due to a parole violation. His sentencing caused a stir across the nation; many are calling it unfair and others claim that it represents a prominent example of unfair parole rules.
The judge who administered the sentencing, Judge Genece E. Brinkley, has been under watch for alleged biases against Meek Mill. There are even reports that the FBI launched an investigation to look at the propriety of her relationships and whether or not she attempted extortion. Judge Brinkley accused Meek Mill's team of "fabricating" these alleged wrongdoings.
Now, Judge Brinkley has denied the requests of Meek Mill's legal team to reconsider his prison sentence and to step down from the case, according to New York Daily News. Defense lawyer Joe Tacopina submitted the request to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in late March, citing Brinkley's "bias and … unusual personal interest" in the case.
"Defendant received proper notice of all alleged probation violations in advance of his hearing," wrote Brinkley, according court documents. "The sentence imposed was not manifestly excessive and this court stated sufficient reasons on the record to support a state sentence of two to four years."
Meek's defense also hoped that recent revelations that the state's key witness against the rapper, disgraced former police officer Reggie Graham was found to be on a secret district attorney's list of corrupt officers. Graham has also been accused of perjury. This new information has cast doubt on whether or not Meek actually committed the crime he originally went to jail for–the crime that caused him to be on probation in the first place.
"In spite of the recommendations from the Philadelphia District Attorney's office, which was supported by Governor Tom Wolf, the judge continues to stand alone in supporting Officer Reginald Graham's perjured testimony as well as his criminal behavior that has been documented," said Tacopina in a statement following the judge's decision. "Fortunately, we have already filed petitions with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to secure his release, and we remain hopeful that the Court will right this injustice very soon."
Meek Mill recently spoke about the injustices of the prison pipeline system and its effect on the black community in an exclusive interview with the Rolling Stone while in prison.
"I want to speak on this system and what it does to black people – on both fucking sides of the fence, straight self-hate, man, it makes these people crazy," he had said. "For a kid from North Philly to come all the way up, then be pulled back down by his own? Trust me, I'm gonna say something about that. And then, I'm gonna move to Atlanta."
