Meek Mill Thinks Lawmakers Should Change Probation Rules

Meek Mill is on a mission. With a new empathetic outlook on victims of the criminal justice system in the wake of his own legal issues, the Philly rapper is making it a point to be a voice for the voiceless. On Monday (Nov. 26), he penned an opinion-editorial piece for The New York Times about the need for change.

Meek, who has been on probation for the last decade and is currently out on bail as he fights his current situation, realizes he is in a situation not afforded to many.

"I’m blessed — I’m busy recording an album and catching up with friends and fans as my family and I make plans to celebrate the holidays," Meek wrote. "I know I’m the exception to the rule — a lucky one. It’s clearer than ever that a disproportionate number of men and women of color are treated unfairly by a broken criminal justice system. The system causes a vicious cycle, feeding upon itself — sons and daughters grow up with their parents in and out of prison, and then become far more likely to become tied up in the arrest-jail-probation cycle. This is bad for families and our society as a whole."

Alterations to the system clearly need to be made, in the rapper's eyes. It starts with lawmakers making moral adjustments.

"It’s a shame that model probationers can be immediately put back behind bars simply for missing curfew, testing positive for marijuana, failing to pay fines on time or, in some cases, not following protocol when changing addresses. Our lawmakers can and should do away with these 'technical violations," wrote the Philly rapper. "And more broadly, if they’re serious about reducing mass incarceration and unnecessary government surveillance, they should introduce legislation that allows people on probation to earn a reduction in probation time for good behavior so that entire swaths of people aren’t spending the majority of their adult lives on probation as I did."

The Philly rapper is definitely serious about his intentions. Two weeks ago, he was on a panel at the Criminal Justice Reform Summit in Los Angeles, along with Kim Kardashian, Fab 5 Freddy, Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin, Get Out actress Allison Williams and more. The event was hosted by CNN's Van Jones.

For his cover story on the fall issue of XXL magazine, Meek penned an open letter to his younger self about perseverance and race in America.

Meek's new Championships album is slated to be released on Nov. 30.

Check out Meek's entire New York Times piece here. Watch the video portion of the NYT piece for yourself below.

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