Month: November 2024

Young Thug is soon to be a free man after more than two years in jail. The Atlanta trap mainstay has accepted a plea deal that will ensure his release, pleading no contest to charges of racketeering and other crimes. He has been sentenced to 15 years of probation.

R&B singer Mariah The Scientist, Thug’s girlfriend, reacted to the news in a text to WSBTV’s Michael Seiden, who contacted her for comment. She replied:

“Thank you God, thank you God. This is more than what we prayed for. We are so grateful, this is the greatest opportunity we’ve ever been presented with and we are so grateful. Thank you Judge Paige Whitaker for giving us the opportunity to move forward with our life! Thank you God. Thank you Brian Steel and Keith Adams and every attorney working on this case, tireless. THANK YOU! I cannot say it enough, I cannot repay you for this. You have changed our lives, Jeffery’s life and mine. Thank you to everyone who has been there for us, every fan, who believed in us and prayed for us.”

I just reached out to Young Thug’s girlfriend, Mariah the Scientist, and she texted me the following statement regarding what happened today in court:⬇️ pic.twitter.com/zGIrD2LRNn

— Michael Seiden (@SeidenWSBTV) October 31, 2024

Thug’s trial was the longest in Georgia history — and possibly, its most dramatic. Over the course of the past year, the case went through three judges, a criminal contempt charge for Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel, and a slew of delays. It also met enormous backlash for using lyrics as evidence in what some observers called a racist application of Georgia’s racketeering law.

Young Thug will at last be released from custody after accepting a plea deal in his racketeering case. According to Billboard, Thug agreed to plead “no contest” to racketeering and pled guilty to possession of drugs and firearms, and was sentenced to 15 years probation. He will serve no prison time; he was jailed for over two years as his trial dragged on, becoming the longest in Georgia state history.

Thug opted for a non-negotiated guilty plea after several days of closed-door negotiations with prosecutors. This allowed Judge Paige Reese Whitaker to determine the sentence herself after she found herself losing patience with the prosecutions’ antics. The trial, which didn’t even start in earnest until earlier this year, would have called nearly a hundred witnesses, and with just the first handful necessitating days of delays, stalled testimonies, secret ex parte meetings, a criminal contempt charge against the defense (since rescinded), and not just one, but two judges’ recusals, it’s probably fair to say that all parties involved were ready to get this thing over with.

The trial had already drawn heavy backlash for its application of Georgia’s state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and use of lyrics as evidence, which some observers criticized for racist motivations. Meanwhile, prosecutors wanted Thug sentenced to 25 years in prison, with another 20 on probation, accusing him of leading a criminal organization responsible for a wave of violent crime in the Atlanta area. The District Attorney’s office alleged that Thug’s record label, Young Stoner Life (YSL), was secretly a front for a street gang, Young Slime Life, with a list of violations including murder, attempted murder, robbery, assault, and distribution of drugs.

Several other co-defendants, including YSL rapper Yak Gotti, declined the plea deal, however; they will continue to stand trial for crimes including the alleged 2015 murder of a supposed rival gang leader, Donovan Thomas.