The rapper, born Robert Rihmeek Williams, was initially found guilty more than a decade ago of possessing drugs and a firearm, with a detective testifying at trial that Williams, then 19, pointed a gun at him during a 2007 arrest. Williams served eight months in prison before being placed on probation for 10 years.
In 2017, after two arrests that did not lead to convictions, a Philadelphia judge, Genece Brinkley, sentenced Williams to up to four years in prison for violating his parole, leading to an outcry by celebrities and advocates of criminal justice reform. The rapper served five months before he was granted bail.
Since then, as the rapper has become a cause célèbre and outspoken reformer himself, Williams’ legal team has argued that Brinkley had become overly involved in the case and was no longer impartial. In calling for a new trial, they also pointed to the fact that the only witness to testify against Williams at trial was a former Philadelphia police officer, Reginald Graham, who has since resigned from the department after an internal investigation found him guilty of theft and lying.
In a rare twist, prosecutors for the district attorney’s office backed Williams’ request for a new trial, acknowledging that it would never again call Graham to testify.
In its decision Wednesday, a three-judge appeals panel reversed a lower court’s ruling and granted Williams a new trial, noting that “Graham was the only witness to incriminate Williams at trial.” The decision added that “reassignment to a different trial judge is necessary to avoid appearances of unfairness and partiality.”
In a statement, Meek Mill said, “The past 11 years have been mentally and emotionally challenging, but I’m ecstatic that justice prevailed.” He added: “Unfortunately, millions of people are dealing with similar issues in our country and don’t have the resources to fight back like I did. We need to continue supporting them.” (The rapper previously wrote about the “arrest-jail-probation cycle” in an Op-Ed for The New York Times.)
Prosecutors could now choose to drop the case against Williams altogether. As part of its appeal, the rapper’s legal team included a sworn affidavit from another officer present at Williams’ 2007 arrest, who said he did not see Williams point his gun but rather attempt to discard it.
The district attorney’s office said in a statement that it was “pleased that the Pennsylvania Superior Court has validated our position that Robert Rihmeek Williams deserves a new trial before a court that has no appearance of partiality,” adding that it would review the court’s opinion and “begin to review options.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.