Meek Mill Helps Propose Pennsylvania Criminal Justice Reform Bill

Meek Mill, Van Jones and Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin held a news conference Tuesday to propose House Bill 1925, a bipartisan effort to reform Pennsylvania’s probation and parole system.

The men are co-chairs for the REFORM Alliance, a criminal justice reform organization launched with JAY-Z and other prominent figures in January. Politicians from the Democratic and Republican parties joined for the news conference to support the proposed legislation.

According to TMZ, if passed the measure would prevent the state from handing down consecutive prison sentences. It would also prohibit the extension of probation or parole over fines or fees that arise over non-violent, technical probations violations. Also, it would stop the rule that automatically places people back in jail for testing positive for marijuana, traveling outside of jurisdiction, or associating with others with a criminal history.

There is also a clause that seeks to set up a plan to reward good behavior that the group hopes will serve as an incentive to parolees.

“I’m just here to speak for the ones who don’t have a voice, because I hate it had to be me who had to go to jail, a rapper, a public figure to go to jail for it to become an issue, but it is an issue and this is where we at,” Mill told the media. The Philly-born rapper was released on bail in April 2018 after public outcry over the ethics of a two- to four-year sentence he received for nonviolent probation violations.

Since his release, the Dream Chasers Records founder has been vocal about how the criminal justice system negatively affects people of color and those from low-income communities. Mill teamed up with JAY-Z and others to produce the Amazon docuseries Free Meek, which will follow his fight to exonerate himself following his recent probation violation that stemmed from a conviction in November 2017.