The trial of Atlanta rapper Young Thug is at a critical juncture as a Fulton County judge assigned to the 10-month-old case just two weeks ago decides how to proceed.
Already the case is the longest in Georgia history; Jury selection alone took 10 months. It’s been delayed by the usual lawyer squabbling as well as a string of strange subplots. One involved an alleged hand-to-hand drug swap between defendants in open court. There was a romance between a sheriff’s deputy and another co-defendant and a pornographic video that mistakenly popped up on a courtroom Zoom feed.
Here is what you need to know:
By the numbers:
In May 2022, Fulton County prosecutors charged 28 people in a 65-count indictment. Since then, nine defendants have entered negotiated guilty pleas, six are currently on trial and 11 defendants are awaiting trial. One defendant is being sought by authorities and another had his charges dropped after being convicted of an unrelated murder.
What are the allegations?
Prosecutors say YSL or “Young Slime Life” is a southwest Atlanta gang responsible for much of the city’s violent crime. Young Thug, who’s real name is Jeffery Williams, is accused of being a co-founder and leader of the gang. His defense attorneys strongly contest the charges and say YSL is simply the name of the star’s record label.
What happened to the judge?:
Fulton County Chief Judge Ural Glanville presided over the case for more than a year and a half before he was removed earlier this month. Attorneys called for Glanville’s recusal after he held a secret meeting on June 10 with Fulton County prosecutors, a key state witness and the witness’ attorney inside his chambers, without the presence of defense attorneys or defendants. Glanville was ultimately removed from the case because of how he handled those recusal motions.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
The trial was reassigned to Judge Shukura Ingram, who recused herself from the case due to a potential conflict relating to her former deputy being involved romantically with a YSL co-defendant. After Ingram’s recusal, the case was assigned to Judge Paige Reese Whitaker.
Why did Young Thug’s lawyer almost end up in jail?:
After Young Thug’s attorney, Brian Steel, found out about the June 10 meeting, he brought it up in open court. Glanville insisted Steel disclose where he got the information about the meeting. Steel refused. Glanville held him in contempt and sentenced him to 10 weekends in jail.
Days before Steel was set to turn himself into the jail, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a stay on his sentence pending an appeal on Glanville’s contempt ruling.
Why are lyrics being used against Young Thug and other rappers?
When announcing the indictments in May 2022, Fulton County DA Fani Willis said the First Amendment was “one of our most precious rights” but that it did not protect someone from having their own words become evidence in a criminal proceeding.
At a separate press conference, Willis defended her decision to introduce lyrics as evidence, saying, “If you decide to admit your crimes over a beat, I’m going to use it.”
In November 2023, Glanville said he would allow certain sets of lyrics to be presented to jurors if prosecutors could lay the foundation for how those words pertained to real-world crimes allegedly committed by “Young Slime Life” members.
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