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Meek Mill and his partners at the REFORM Alliance are celebrating after they helped bring major changes to Pennsylvania's probation system.
On Friday, December 15, the Philly native was in attendance for a special ceremony with Governor Josh Shapiro and the lawmakers who helped pass Senate Bill 838. Meek got emotional while he spoke about the hardships of being on probation while along other advocates like REFORM co-chair Michael Rubin and podcaster Wallo, stood by his side.
"I used to pray for times like this," Meek told Governor Shapiro right before the bill was signed. The governor also gifted him with one of the pens he used.
“I can’t explain how much this bill means to me,” Meek said in a statement to iHeartRadio. "My experience on probation reflected millions of other stories that go unheard. So when the world saw my case and the absurdity of sending people to prison for non-criminal technical violations, it sparked a movement. It’s an honor and a blessing to see this change come to my home state. I am deeply grateful to the lawmakers and advocates for their hard work over many years to get this done. Thank you, truly."
“When I sat in that courtroom in 2017 and watched a judge sentence Meek to 2-4 years in prison for NOT committing a crime, my eyes were opened to how broken Pennsylvania’s probation system is,” Michael Rubin added. "We made a promise to not just free Meek but to change the system for millions of others. Probation has become a trapdoor to incarceration and a bureaucratic nightmare. Instead, supervision should redirect people to the services and support that they need to rebuild their lives. That’s exactly what this bill will help do. Thank you, Governor Shapiro, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, especially Senators Lisa Baker, Tony Williams, and Camera Bartolotta, and Representatives Jordan Harris and Sheryl Delozier, for your leadership on this."
The bill will help reduce the number of people incarcerated for non-criminal technical violations, do away with counterproductive probation conditions, incentivize successful reentry, make more pathways to early termination and more. It was passed in the House earlier this week. The bill's passing is another major accomplishment for REFORM, and serves as a full circle moment for Meek. The MMG rapper was placed in jail back in 2017 due to violations of Pennsylvania's broken system. Upon his release in 2018, Meek Mill, JAY Z, Rubin and others came together to launch the REFORM Alliance to help make changes in America's criminal justice system. That's exactly what they did today.
Watch the entire bill signing event below.