Tag: Corruption

WATCH: “Rap Trap — Hip Hop on Trial” Trailer

Jeffery Williams pka Young Thug with counsel during RICO trial
Photo Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Check out the trailer for the Hulu documentary, “Rap Trap: Hip Hop on Trial” surrounding the use of hip hop lyrics being used against rap artists in court.

The full documentary is now available here.

Atlanta rapper Young Thug is the latest rapper to be hit with charges for his alleged gang ties to the national Bloods street gang.

Prosecutors say Jeffery Williams /pka/ Young Thug, who is allegedly the leader of the gang YSL or Young Slime Life, rapped about his criminal activities in his music under his YSL record label. According to the Atlanta DA’s office, his music lyrics should be admissible in court and used against him for prosecution.

Although Young Thug has claimed gang ties in his lyrics, defense attorney Manny Arora is arguing there is no evidence that rapper has any gang affiliation.

So far four of Thug’s co-defendants have been sentenced to life in prison for their crimes committed while affiliated with the gang. Others have taken plea deals leaving Young Thug on the hook to stand trial under the Rico charge.

He faces life in prison if convicted.

Kyle Rittenhouse Found Not Guilty For Wisconsin Murders

Kyle Rittenhouse

Unbelievable.

I said I wasn’t going to dive too much into this case because watching the trial was like watching a circus side show.

The judge, short of a few marbles, clearly and brazenly assisted the defense essentially swaying the jury and even allowing the defendant to draw jurors like bingo numbers.

On the end, KKKyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of ALL FIVE CHARGES and allowed to ride off into the sunset all smiles after killing 2 people and injuring a 3rd during the Jacob Blake protests in Kenosha.

Rittenhouse, then 17 years old, claimed he had traveled from his home in Antioch, Ill., to protect private property and help as a medic.

Amid protests that had turned violent and destructive, Rittenhouse fatally shot two men with an assault-style rifle.

My main issue is like most of America, I felt like Rittenhouse went to the protest with full intentions of causing more trouble. He claims he went as the “Good Samaritan” but he showed up with an AR-15 assault style rifle and 3 people ended up shot.

I could maybe understand if he was going to protect his own private property but he was not. He went to play vigilante. Had he never traveled 15-20 minutes to the scene to engage and antagonize the situation, none of this would have ever happened. The fact that he got away with killing people, claiming self defense, is what’s so mind blowing and damn right unfair.

Not even a slap on the wrist — a full acquittal of every charge, including first-degree intentional homicide, in a case that’s captivated, and divided, a nation.

What are your thoughts? Do you think the not guilty verdict is fair and appropriate in this case? Do you think Rittenhouse went to the protest with the intentions of rendering aid or murdering people?

Let me know what you think!

One Black Juror Selected for Ahmaud Arbery Murder Case; All Other Jurors White

The jury selection phase of the Ahmaud Arbery case is already proving to be a miscarriage of justice for Ahmaud. This trial hasn’t even began and it already appears to be headed in the wrong direction. One black juror was selected for the jury, all the others were white. Even the judge called the jury selection process “discriminatory”.

Let’s hope justice is served for Ahmaud Arbery who didn’t deserve his fate. For those who don’t remember, Ahmaud was jogging through a South Georgia neighborhood & subsequently hunted down and shot like a dog by two white men playing neighborhood “vigilantes”.

Ahmaud Arbery

CNN — After a long and contentious jury selection process in a coastal Georgia county in preparation for the trial for Ahmaud Arbery’s killing, a panel of 12 people was chosen Wednesday — consisting of one Black member and 11 White members. The jury was selected after a two-and-a-half-week selection process that ended with prosecutors for the state accusing defense attorneys of disproportionately striking qualified Black jurors and basing some of their strikes on race.

Judge Timothy Walmsley said the defense appeared to be discriminatory in selecting the jury but that the case could go forward.

“This court has found that there appears to be intentional discrimination.”

“One of the challenges that I think counsel recognized in this case is the racial overtones in the case. … This is sort of the continuation of a conversation that I think will continue for a long time, with respect to this case,” the judge said, but added that in Georgia, “all the defense needs to do is provide that legitimate, nondiscriminatory, clear, reasonably specific and related reason,” for why they struck a juror and he said the defense met that burden.