Young Thug Will Be Released From Jail After Accepting Plea Deal ...

4 hours ago

Forbes

Topline

Rapper Young Thug will be released from jail after accepting a plea deal Thursday in his lengthy racketeering case, according to multiple outlets, though he will serve at least 15 years of probation.

The sentencing was issued Thursday evening. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

2021 Invision Key Facts

Young Thug, legally known as Jeffery Williams, pleaded guilty to three drug charges, two gun charges and one gang charge.

Williams also entered a no contest plea to a racketeering conspiracy charge and a separate gang charge, potentially opening himself up to being punished for the criminal counts.

Williams’ sentence is a far cry from the punishment prosecutors initially sought, as the state of Georgia had earlier recommended a 45-year sentence, including 25 years in prison and 20 years of probation.

Williams and his defense agreed to the 15-year probation deal after considering a non-negotiated plea earlier Thursday, which would have resulted in Georgia Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker deciding on his sentence by considering recommendations from both sides.

Williams will also have to stay out of metro Atlanta for the first 10 years of his probation, make anti-gang presentations to children four times a year and perform 100 hours of community service annually.

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Surprising Fact

Williams’ racketeering case involved the longest-running criminal trial in Georgia state history, according to NBC News, as the trial’s jury selection began in January 2023. The rapper has been jailed since May 2022.

Key Background

Williams is a Grammy Award-winning rapper and the founder of his own record label, Young Stoner Life, which later became a subject of scrutiny in his trial, as prosecutors believed it overlapped with a criminal gang. Williams was charged in 2022 alongside more than two dozen co-defendants over alleged gang activity. Members of the gang known as Young Slime Life were charged with counts including murder, drug dealing and armed robbery. Six co-defendants remained by November 2023, with many accepting plea deals or requesting to be tried separately prior to the opening statements in Williams’ case. Three of Williams’ co-defendants also reached plea deals this week, NBC News reported.