JAY-Z has already spoken out against Meek Mill’s harsh prison sentencing on stage and social media, but today he’s taking his gripes to the pages of The New York Times. In an op ed titled The Criminal Justice System Stalks Black People Like Meek Mill, Hov calls out Judge Genece E. Brinkley’s unjust sentence while tackling the lengthy, severe and racist nature of probation.
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What’s happening to Meek Mill is just one example of how our criminal justice system entraps and harasses hundreds of thousands of black people every day. I saw this up close when I was growing up in Brooklyn during the 1970s and 1980s. Instead of a second chance, probation ends up being a land mine, with a random misstep bringing consequences greater than the crime. A person on probation can end up in jail over a technical violation like missing a curfew.
Jay closes out the article by pointing readers towards Color of Change, a racial-justice organization in Philadelphia pressuring the courts for criminal justice reform. “Probation is a trap and we must fight for Meek and everyone else unjustly sent to prison,” he writes.
Read the full article here.
