Image: Shareif Ziyadat for Getty Images.
Hip hop star Meek Mill spread Christmas cheer this holiday by paying bail for 20 women so that they could be with their families over the holidays, reports CBS News.
Mill, whose birth name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, helped incarcerated women at the Riverside Correctional Facility, located in his hometown of Philadelphia, who couldn’t afford to pay their bail, go home for the holidays. Additionally, the women also received a gift card to purchase groceries or holiday gifts.
Mill spoke about his own personal experience of being locked away during the holidays.
“It was devastating for me to be away from my son during the holidays when I was incarcerated,” he said. “For families impacted by the criminal justice system, the holidays can be an extremely challenging time. No one should have to spend the holidays in jail simply because they can’t afford bail,” he continued. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to help these women be with their families and loved ones during this special time of year.”
Besides his passion for music, Mill has been an activist for prison reform. In 2019, he, along with Jay-Z, launched the Reform Alliance, an initiative aimed at changing probation and parole laws. Other partners include Patriots owner Robert Kraft; Michael Rubin, a former co-owner of the 76ers co-owner; and Clara Wu Tsai, a co-owner of the Brooklyn Nets. The founding partners collectively pledged $50 million to the effort.
Mill has first-hand experience with the antiquated laws of the criminal justice system. Back in 2017, Mill was sentenced to serve two to four years in state prison for a minor probation violation after a 2008 gun and drug possession conviction. After legal appeals and protests, he was released after serving five months. After pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge, all other charges were dropped.
Recently, Judge Genece Brinkley, the Pennsylvania judge who sentenced Mill to prison, had 50 of her criminal cases reassigned for alleged misconduct.
Fighting for criminal justice reform is now Mill’s life work. “Creating the Reform Alliance is one of the most important things I’ve ever done in my life,” Mill said in a previous statement. “If you thought my case was unfair, there are millions of others dealing with worse situations and caught up in the system without committing crimes,” he continued. “With this alliance, we want to change outdated laws, give people hope, and reform a system that’s stacked against us.”