Young Thug received some high praise from members of the jury for the YSL RICO trial after the case finally wrapped up, earlier this week. Two of the jurors discussed the acquittal verdict with Melanie Goolsby on her YouTube show, I’m Not a Lawyer But…, as caught by Meghann Cuniff. In doing one, one of them spoke very highly of Thug.
“I honestly didn’t know anything about his music. And to be honest, the way that they presented him in his trial… They wanted him to look in this negative light,” she said. “But I saw somebody who kinda pulled himself up, got himself out of the position that he was in and tried to help other people around. So it actually shined a more positive light in my eyes than what the state was trying to present.” She added: “I wish him continued success with everything.”
Young Thug Attends The BET Hip Hop Awards
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 01: Young Thug attends the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center on October 01, 2021, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/2021 BET Hip Hop Awards/Getty Images for BET)
In a separate interview with WSB-TV, as caught by HipHopDX, Jury foreman Jason Collins explained that the state’s decision to use Thug’s lyrics against him didn’t sit well with him. “I believe in freedom of speech, regardless of if we agree or disagree,” he said. “It’s a very thin line to take lyrics and put them into trial. [Young Thug] is an artist, he’s expressing himself, and I think that weg o into a slippery slope when we start to analyze lyrics and music. That is something that I have to disagree with wholeheartedly. I personally don’t believe that lyrics should have been brought into the format.”
Jurors Reflect On The YSL RICO Trial
Thug got out of jail after taking a plea deal in the case, which results in him spending the next 15 years on probation, among several other restrictions. The historically lengthy trial finally wrapped up with the not guilty verdict of Yak Gotti on Tuesday. Check out the jurors’ full comments on Young Thug below.
About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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