Meek Mill posts bail for 20 incarcerated women
Meek Mill posted bail for 20 incarcerated women in Philadelphia last week, helping them to reunite with their families for Christmas.
The rapper co-founded the organisation REFORM Alliance in 2018 alongside Jay-Z and others, aiming to transform the system of probation and parole in the US.
Mill posted bail for 20 women who were unable to afford the costs, allowing them the chance to spend the festive season with their loved ones. Five women were released from the Riverside Correctional Facility in Philadelphia on Christmas Eve, with 15 more to be released this week.
As well as bail, each woman will also be given a gift card to purchase groceries or gifts for the holidays.
“It was devastating for me to be away from my son during the holidays when I was incarcerated,” Mill said in a press release. “So I understand what these women and their families are going through.
“No one should have to spend the holidays in jail simply because they can’t afford bail. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help these women be with their families and loved ones during this special time of year.”
REFORM Alliance was founded after Mill’s own battle with the justice system, which saw him sentenced to prison for two-to-four years for popping a wheelie while on probation. The sentence sparked the #FreeMeek movement and eventually led to his release on bail. In 2019, his conviction was overturned.
Last year, the organisation helped pass reform laws in Michigan that significantly reshaped the state’s probation and parole system. Laws SB 1048, SB 1050 and SB 1051 reduced adult felony probation sentences in Michigan from five years to three years, preventing endless extensions on misdemeanour and felony probation terms, limiting jail sanctions for technical probation violations and requiring parole supervision terms to be tailored to a person’s individual risks and needs.
Meanwhile, in January, Mill and Jay-Z were among the stars supporting a proposed law in New York State that would limit prosecutors’ ability to use defendants’ rap lyrics as evidence of alleged crimes.
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Rhian Daly
NME
