Young Thug’s RICO trial has received a new judge, and with that, his attorney has asked that the incarcerated rapper be released from jail for the time being.
Billboard reports that his attorney, Brian Steel, requested that Judge Paige Reese Whitaker allow Thugger to be released on bond and remain under house arrest until the jury lands on a verdict.
“The most fundamental premise of our criminal justice system is that the criminally accused cannot be punished for an offense until the prosecution proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” Steel wrote in the filing. “In our society, liberty is the norm.”
Judge Ural Glanville—who was recused from the case due to a secret meeting between prosecutors and a witness—rejected similar demands from Steel. In his motion, the attorney told Whitaker that Thug has had to “languish” in jail for over two years, calling the time “torturous,” and pointing out that he hasn’t even been convicted.
Glanville rejected Steel’s request, claiming the Atlanta rapper might resort to intimidating witnesses if he was out on bond. Steel spoke to that notion in his request, outlining what house arrest for Thug could look like, including “the use of electronic monitoring, the hiring of off-duty police officers to guard him, subjecting all communications to monitoring and requiring searches of all people entering the home,” Billboard writes.
“This will prevent any possibility to intimidate a witness or otherwise obstruct the administration of justice,” Steel said in his filing. “With these parameters in mind, it cannot be said that Mr. Williams would be a threat or a danger to the community or any person or property in the community.”
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“Ordering Mr. Williams to wear an ankle monitor and to be in ‘total lockdown’ in his home is the equivalent to custody and confinement and has been deemed lawful confinement without the punishment imposed by the current county jail conditions wrongly imposed on Mr. Williams,” Steel added.
Young Thug has been incarcerated since May 2022, alongside 27 other YSL associates in a RICO case. The trial began in January 2023 and is anticipated to continue into 2025.
