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Meek Mill"Lawyers will have the opportunity to argue that the 2008 conviction by the rapper on charges of possession of firearms and drugs should be rescinded. The Pennsylvania Superior Court has granted Meek Mill a hearing in its long-standing appeal, its legal team said Tuesday.
Debates are scheduled for July 16 in Philadelphia. Meek Mill is trying to have his conviction overturned due to issues relating to the credibility of the officer who made the arrest.
Meek Mill, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, has become a symbol of criminal justice reform after a Philadelphia judge sentenced him in 2017 to a two- to four-year sentence. imprisonment for minor probation offenses. He spent months in jail before a court ordered his release in April of last year.
Shortly after his release, Meek Mill told "CBS This Morning" that many people of color face similar legal challenges across the country.
"This happens daily to minorities who do not have a voice," the rapper said. "I have just become one – it's almost like cities … in prisons where people have no contact with the world".
He believes that his celebrity status has helped him get his release from prison. "I'm just lucky to have powerful and influential people to defend me and speak up," he said.
Last month, Philadelphia's chief prosecutor called for a new trial and a judge for Meek Mill, saying that Common Pleas judge Genece Brinkley had abused her discretion and was biased against her. Brinkley, who declined Meek Mill's bid for a retrial last year, dismissed allegations of bias and refused calls to withdraw from the case.
"We are looking forward to hearing the case in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and hope that Meek's conviction is overturned," said Jordan Siev, Mill's attorney, in a statement. "In light of the recent prosecutor's case, in which he supports the granting of a new trial at Meek and the challenge of Judge Brinkley, we hope to have this injustice corrected once and for all."
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