Government

Dreams Sans Nightmares: A Well-Known Advocate For Prison Reform Was Just Pardoned

I don't know how this will end up as a lyric in his next mixtape, but I guarantee that it will end up as a lyric on his next mixtape.

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Meek Mill (Photo via Getty Images)

Hold up, wait a minute, y’all thought he was finished? When he got assigned probation thought he’d serve the sentence?

… My apologies. Code switched a little too hard there. Rapper and Dreamchaser Meek Mill has recently been pardoned for his prior drug and gun charges. From Huffington Post:

Rapper Meek Mill…celebrated the latest twist in his legal case Friday after he was pardoned by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.

Wolf signed his final 369 pardons this week, adding to his Pennsylvania record of number of pardons granted since he took office in 2015. Williams was pardoned of gun and drug charges.

Governor Tom Wolf’s pardons are laudable and will hopefully inspire others with the power to pardon to buttress their prior lackluster use of pardoning power. Not to be accused of sneak dissing with Twitter fingers, I am talking about President Biden’s lackluster use of the pardoning function.

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Enough about the President, back to the man of the hour. Meek Mill’s pardon is a symbol to the disaffected that redemption is not only possible, but that it is to be rewarded with an open-armed welcome back to the community. This is an important lesson — one that judges should pay heed to.

It is easy to associate Meek Mill with yelling and bragging about the rollie on his wrist, but the man has depth. His oeuvre is both lyrical and philanthropic, like that time he paid bail for 20 women from his hometown so they could spend time with their families. The Grammy-nominated artist is also co-chair of REFORM, an organization dedicated to the transformation of probation and parole in the U.S. I am sure that he will continue to be a pillar of his community.

P.S. I just wanted to say how proud I am of myself for going this long without making any jokes about the fact that Meek Mill looks a lot like one of the most influential civil rights leaders of our time. That said, it would be irresponsible to not mention it given that MLK Day was yesterday — just look at the comparison:

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Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, he’s free at last!

Pennsylvania Governor Pardons Meek Mill’s Drug And Gun Charges [Huffington Post]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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