Rapper Meek Mill lost his bid for a new trial on Tuesday. The troubled rapper went before his arch nemesis Judge Genece Brinkley in a Philadelphia courtroom on Tuesday.
The judge denied his request for a new trial stemming from his 2007 arrest on gun charges.
Judge Brinkley cited the reason behind her decision:
“After an in-depth review of the record, court history, notes of testimony, and evidence submitted at the evidentiary hearing, this court hereby denies defendant’s petition for PCRA relief as defendant failed to meet his burden of proof.”
Brinkley originally sentenced Mill to 2-4 years in prison for violating his probation in 2017.
But after a swell of public protests and support from fellow rappers and corporate leaders, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Judge Brinkley’s sentence in April.
Mill served 5 months of his sentence before he was freed pending today’s hearing.
The judge’s new decision means Mill will be back behind bars. His lawyers plan to appeal the judge’s decision.
“We are not at all surprised by Judge Brinkley‘s decision today. Despite the agreement of the District Attorney’s office on the need for a new trial, and the granting of new trials to other identically situated defendants, Judge Brinkley made clear during the hearing on June 18th that she had already decided the matter,” Mill’s attorney Joe Tacopina told USA TODAY.
Since his much-publicized release from prison in April, Meek has not done much in the way of advocating for prison reform like he promised he would.
He was scheduled to meet with President Trump in May, but he backed out of the visit after receiving a phone call from rapper JAY-Z on behalf of former President Barack Obama.
Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images
