Young Stoner Life

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days of delays, stalled testimonies, secret ex parte meetings, a criminal contempt charge against the defense (since rescinded), and not just one, but two judges’ recusals, it’s probably fair to say that all parties involved were ready to get this thing over with.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.

The racketeering trial against Young Thug has slogged into its 140th day, and while not much of note has happened for the past 9 months since the last update, in the past month or so, there have been enough updates to fill a new primer. So, here’s everything that’s happened so far in the trial.

What Is Young Thug Charged With In The YSL RICO Trial?

Young Thug is accused of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The state argues that Young Stoner Life, Thug’s label, is actually a cover for Young Slime Life, a violent street gang responsible for assault, dealing drugs, and murder in the Atlanta area. Thug was also charged with possession of illegal firearms and possession of drugs with intent to distribute after a raid on his home.

What Are The Updates In Young Thug’s YSL RICO Trial?

In June, Young Thug’s defense attorney, Brian Steel, was charged with criminal contempt of court and taken into custody after refusing to tell Judge Ural Glanville how he found out about a meeting between the judge and the prosecution that took place without the defense present.

The resulting kerfuffle led to a number of attorneys in Georgia banding together to petition for a mistrial while helping Steel prepare his appeal. The uproar prompted a recusal hearing on July 1, resulting in Glanville being removed from the trial. His immediate replacement, Shukura Ingram, also recused herself, citing a situation in which her court deputy was discovered to have had an inappropriate relationship with one of the defendants in the case. She was replaced by Judge Paige Reese Whitaker.

This turned out to be a setback for the prosecution, as on September 30, Whitaker criticized Chief Assistant District Attorney Adriane Love for her handling of the case so far. Whitaker chastised the prosecutor for “hiding the ball” and “throwing this case together as you try it.” While Whitaker did not grant a mistrial — the latest round of motions for mistrial in the longest trial in Georgia history — it’s clear that even the court itself is beginning to lose patience with the case.

That’s where things stand as of this writing. The trial is still expected to continue into 2025, with more than 100 witnesses yet to testify.

Yesterday (September 30), the Young Thug racketeering trial featured yet another explosive twist after the judge presiding over the proceedings lit into the prosecutors for presenting such a sloppy case. However, despite this, the defense’s request for a mistrial has been denied yet again, as the trial enters its 139th day.

Judge Paige Reese Whitaker appeared to be fed up with Chief Assistant District Attorney Adriane Love’s behavior for the past month, saying, “It is baffling to me that somebody with the number of years of experience that you have, time after time after time, continues to seemingly and purposefully hide the ball to the extent you possibly can, for as long as you possibly can.

“I really don’t want to believe that it is purposeful, but honestly, after a certain number of times, you start to wonder how can it be anything but that,” she continued. “Unless it is just that you are so unorganized that you are throwing this case together as you try it.”

Judge Whitaker was assigned to the trial after its previous judge, Ural Glanville, was removed in the wake of controversy surrounding his declaring Young Thug’s defense attorney, Brian Steel, in criminal contempt of court.

The judge in the ongoing racketeering trial against Young Thug appears to have reached the end of her patience with the prosecution. Judge Paige Reese Whitaker upbraided Chief Assistant District Attorney Adriane Love for the presentation of the State of Georgia’s case during court today, just ahead of considering a mistrial motion filed by the defense.

“I don’t want to malign the prosecutor standing in front of me right now, so I’m not going to say the possible things it could be,” Whitaker said. “It is baffling to me that somebody with the number of years of experience that you have, time after time after time, continues to seemingly and purposefully hide the ball to the extent you possibly can, for as long as you possibly can. I really don’t want to believe that it is purposeful, but honestly, after a certain number of times, you start to wonder how can it be anything but that. Unless it is just that you are so unorganized that you are throwing this case together as you try it.”

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the trial has become the longest in Georgia state history as a result of numerous delays, many the direct result of the DA’s office’s presentation of its case, as well as issues with its previous judge, who was removed and replaced by Whitaker earlier this summer. The trial, which was to have begun in 2021, still has over 100 witnesses to get through, and if not declared a mistrial, is expected to continue into next year.

Young Thug is accused of one count of conspiracy to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, possession of a firearm while committing a felony; possession of a machine gun; two counts of participating in criminal street activity; and three counts of violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. The DA’s office says Thug was the co-founder and leader of a criminal street gang, Young Slime Life — which not so coincidentally shares initials with his label, Young Stoner Life. The State believes that the label is a cover for and funds the gang’s activities, which include a string of violent crimes such as murder, robbery, and assault.

After months of slowdowns, delays, and controversies, the racketeering trial against Young Thug and alleged gang/record label YSL will restart with a new judge, as Ural Glanville, who had overseen the trial for the past year and a half, has been removed from the case, according to documents filed with the Fulton County Superior Court. Ironically, the news comes from ThuggerDaily, a fan account on Twitter that has been following the case intently, for obvious reasons.

According to Judge Rachel Krause, who approved the motion to have Judge Glanville recused, he was not removed over the ex parte meeting with witness Kenneth “Woody” Copeland that prompted Glanville to have Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel held in criminal contempt of court. Rather, she approved Glanville’s recusal due to his prior judgments to deny previously filed motions to recuse, in which he offered his own opinions as justifications, leaving his judgments open to critique. In order to “preserve the public’s confidence in the judicial system,” she deemed it necessary to have Glanville removed from the case.

Steel avoided a sentence of several weeks worth of jail time, as the sentence was suspended until an appeal could be completed. With Glanville removed from the case, Steel will likely be let off the hook.

It has been a little over two months since our last Everything To Know post about the ongoing Young Thug racketeering trial, and a lot has happened since then. We’ll cover the basics, but also everything that we weren’t able to update as the trial continued.

What Is Young Thug Charged With In The YSL RICO Trial?

Young Thug was accused of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The RICO law was intended to curtail organized crime — think the “leave the gun, take the cannoli” guys — but a broad application of the law is being used to prosecute this case. The state argues that Young Stoner Life, Thug’s label, is actually a cover for Young Slime Life, a violent street gang responsible for assault, dealing drugs, and murder in the Atlanta area.

28 members of YSL including Gunna, Yak Gotti, and Unfook, Young Thug’s brother, were indicted, with Thug being accused of being the leader of this gang. Although he was only accused of violating the RICO Act at first, a raid of his home added charges of possession of illegal firearms and possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

Who Are The Prosecutors In The YSL RICO Trial?

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Taifa Willis brought the case, one of several focusing on organized crime including one against Donald Trump.

Who Is Young Thug’s Lawyer In The YSL RICO Trial?

Veteran Georgia defense attorney Brian Steel is working with Young Thug. Steel claims the use of Young Thug’s lyrics as evidence is racist.

Why Are Young Thug’s Lyrics Being Used As Evidence?

The state’s case against Young Thug hinges on proving his membership and leadership of YSL as a gang. Young Thug’s lyrics made frequent mention of YSL, so they would like to use his own words to prove that he is the YSL shot caller — but they also have to prove that YSL is a gang in the sense of committing organized criminal activity.

Which Young Thug Lyrics Are Being Used As Evidence In The Case?

The lyrics in question come from a variety of songs, including “Just How It Is”:

“I just beat a murder rap, paid my lawyer 30 for that”

2014’s “Eww”:

“Honestly truth be told YSL won’t fold / Pick his ass off from the balcony/ YSL wipe a n**** nose”

“Bad Boy” with Juice WRLD:

“I shot at his mommy, now he no longer mention me”

“Take It To Trial” with Gunna:

“I rep my life for real/For slimes you know I kill”

What Are The Updates In Young Thug’s YSL RICO Trial?

Since the start of the trial, it’s been delayed a number of times. In December, the trial was paused after a co-defendant, Shannon Stilwell, was stabbed in jail.

As the trial continued in January, Young Thug’s verse from “Lifestyle” was played in court, a TikTok of LeBron James was presented as evidence, and the prosecution has asked to ban cameras during witness testimony.

Meanwhile, video from a jail call between Thug and his girlfriend Mariah The Scientist was leaked online, prompting Drake to call out the authorities for failing to take the case seriously.

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