2023-11-02 00:13:00
The judge in charge of the sprawling organized crime trial of American hip-hop figure Young Thug finished assembling a jury on Wednesday, according to local media. The selection process lasted almost 10 months.
Ural Glanville swore in 12 jurors and six alternates in this trial which is to be held in Atlanta, in the southeast of the United States, and whose hearings will begin on November 27.
Five men and 13 women were chosen according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution media. If the jury had not been seated before November 6, the charges could have been dropped.
Before the hearings begin, the court will have to resolve other points of contention, including whether or not to take into account during the trial the lyrics of the singer’s titles, considered by prosecutors as evidence.
A shock
‘If you decide to admit to a crime on a ‘beat’ (a rap rhythm), I will use it’, assured prosecutor Fani Willis during the investigation. Defenders of freedoms and figures in the music industry have opposed such a practice for years, accusing it of undermining freedom of expression and criminalizing artists, particularly those from minorities.
Rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, 32 years old and originally from Atlanta, is one of 28 people to be indicted in the spring by a Georgia grand jury for alleged membership in a branch of the gang ‘Bloods’ identified as ‘Young Slime Life’, or YSL, accused of a myriad of crimes and misdemeanors. Initials that correspond to those of his label founded in 2016, Young Stoner Life Records.
Most of the defendants have since pleaded guilty or had their charges increased. Young Thug is being prosecuted for criminal conspiracy and participation in the criminal activities of a gang. His arrest in May was a shock for the influential Atlanta hip-hop scene, of which the rapper, who has collaborated with the biggest names in the genre, is a figure.
‘Inappropriate relationship’
Tattooed up to his face, he is known for his psychedelic and flamboyant style, and his rhymes tinged with cracking voices make him one of the best representatives of the trap movement. The trial promises to be sprawling because of the hundreds of witnesses who could be called to the stand.
It could last a year, and has already started with numerous delays and incidents, including the arrest of a defense lawyer, the seizure of another’s computer, the sentencing of an employee to prison of court having had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a defendant and a sanction against a juror who went on a trip while called to court.
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