PHILADELPHIA (CelebrityAccess) — Rapper Meek Mill may be released from jail while he appeals a sentence for probation violation after prosecutors in Philadelphia told a judge that they had concerns about whether his conviction would ultimately be upheld.
Mills was hit in November with a sentence of 2-4 years in prison after he was alleged to have violated the terms of his probation. Mill’s probation stems from a drug and gun charge in 2008 when Mill, born Robert Rihmeek Williams – was just 19. Since then, he has spent most of his adult life behind bars or on probation under the authority of Common Pleas Court Judge Genece E. Brinkley.
However, since he was remanded to custody, questions have arisen about the conviction, including apparently serious credibility questions for the arresting officer in the original 2008 case. According to the Inquirer and Daily News, officer Reggie Graham is included on a list maintained by the District Attorney’s Office of police officers whose credibility is sufficiently questionable that prosecutors should avoid calling them to testify.
This was compounded when former police colleague, Jerold Gibson, provided a sworn affidavit that Graham, the sole witness in the 2008 trial, had provided false testimony in order to see Mill locked up.
Graham, who retired from the force last year, has declined to comment to the Inquirer.
Brinkley also faces questions over Mill’s probation hearing after he accused her of asking him to re-record the Boyz II Men song “On Bended Knee,” and conclude the song with a tribute to her. As well, Mill’s attorney Joe Tacopina told the Inquirer that she had turned up at a charity event for the homeless that Mill had organized.
“She showed up and sat at the table. She’s a judge. You could pull any judge in America and ask them how many times they’ve showed up at a community service for a probation and the answer is zero,” Tacopina told the newspaper. “We’re going to appeal. We’re going to appeal until this gets rectified and it will get rectified. I’m sure of that.”
