The rhymesmith stepped out of a Philadelphia courtroom to greet a crowd of supporters, first letting them know how much he appreciated them.
“I’m very thankful from the bottom of my heart — everybody that ever mentioned my name or said, ‘Free Meek’ or helped me get to this position,” he said.
As his supporters broke into the “Free Meek” chants that have been ubiquitous to protests decrying his plight, the “Going Bad” rapper interrupted them.
“Meek free,” he said to cheers. “I’m not on probation no more. I don’t have to go to court no more.”
He thanked the crowd again and said he would continue to work on social justice issues going forward.
“I know y’all probably got family members in jail or people going through the same thing as me, and I will continue to do what I do with the reform movement and help the people who help me,” he said before leaving the stage.
Meek let out a long-awaited “Amen” last month after a Pennsylvania appeals court overturned his 2008 conviction on gun and drug charges, ordering a new trial and judge in the case.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that a trial judge erred in not granting the Philadelphia rapper a new trial “based on after-discovered evidence,” in accordance with the state’s Post-Conviction Relief Act, it said in its ruling.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said in a statement it is pleased that the appeals court “validated our position that Robert Rihmeek Williams deserves a new trial before a court that has no appearance of partiality.”
In 2008, Meek was convicted after carrying a gun while walking to a store. He was sentenced to several months in prison and released early on five years’ parole.
Following an incident in which he was accused of assault, a court in 2017 handed down a 2- to 4-year sentence for violating parole on the 2008 conviction. He served five months of that sentence.
Meek’s legal team had argued there were credibility issues with a police officer who testified in the 2008 case. The officer was on the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office’s “secret list” of police officers with reputations for being untrustworthy, his lawyers have said.
