Young Thug has been freed from jail. On Thursday, October 31st, the Atlanta rapper entered a non-negotiated plea and was sentenced to five years in prison, which was commuted to time served in light of the two years he’s already spent behind bars as the case unfolded.
Marking the end of marathon criminal trial — the longest in Georgia history — Thug pleaded “no contest” to counts of racketeering conspiracy and leadership of a criminal street gang. He also pleaded guilty to three drug charges, two gun chargers, and an additional gang charge.
After the defense and prosecution could not reach a plea agreement, the judge asked Thugger, born Jeffrey Williams, if he would accept a non-negotiated deal, leaving the sentencing up to the judge. After conferring with his attorney, he agreed, saying, “I hope that you allow me to go home today and trust in me to do the right thing and never see you again. I promise you, I won’t ever be in this type of situation again. I’m going away, I’ve learned from my mistakes — you know, I come from nothing and I’ve made something. I didn’t take full advantage of it. I’m sorry.”
In addition to the now-commuted prison sentence, Thug received 15 years of probation, with additional terms basically banning him from metro Atlanta for the next ten years, disallowing travel except for work, and forbidding him from having contact with any of his YSL co-defendants, except for Gunna and his brother. He must also complete 100 hours of community service and make four anti-gang presentations to children per year.
The case began when Thug was first arrested in May 2022, and has since become quite the judicial clown show, with a number of bizarre events, including court-mandated homework punishments for cavalier jurors, the use of Thug’s lyrics against him, a defense lawyer getting sentenced to 20 days in jail, and more.
What’s next for Thug is unknown, but being in jail didn’t stop his musical output: in June 2023, he released the album Business Is Business, which included the Drake-featuring song “Parade on Cleveland,” anticipating the celebration that would happen in Atlanta upon his release. While Thug won’t be able to attend such a celebration because of his Atlanta ban, he does at least get to walk free now.
The trial isn’t quite finished, with two of Thugger’s co-defendants, the rapper Yak Gotti and Shannon Stillwell, charged with a 2015 murder. For more, revisit Consequence’s explainer on the original charges Thug faced.
