Rapper Young Thug Released From Jail With Plea Deal Ending Georgia’s Longest-Running Criminal Trial

On Thursday, rapper Young Thug was released from jail after he pleaded guilty to a variety of charges in his racketeering trial.

Georgia’s longest-running criminal trial, the case has come to a close after almost two years. 

The Atlanta rapper, born Jeffrey Williams, has been in jail since he was arrested in May 2022, when the rap label he founded was accused of being a front for organized crime. The alleged street gang, called Young Slime Life (or, YSL), featured members who had been accused of murder, armed robbery, drug dealing, carjacking and more. Prosecutors alleged that YSL was responsible for “75 to 80% of violent crime” in Atlanta.

Williams pleaded guilty to three charges related to drugs, two charges related to firearms, and one charge related to gang activity. He also plead no contest to another gang charge and racketeering conspiracy charge.

He was sentenced on Thursday to time served and 15 years on probation. He was released later that evening.

Williams told the court, “I take full responsibility for my crimes, for my charges…to really everybody that has got something to do with this situation, I want to say sorry.”

He went on to describe himself as “a good guy with a good heart,” who got lost, “In a lot of stuff because I was just nice or cool, and I understand that you can’t be that way when you reach a certain height because it could end bad, and it could fall on you.”

Although prosecutors had initially recommended Williams receive a sentence of 45 years, which included 25 in custody and 20 on probation, Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker decided on a 40-year sentence, the first five years of which would be served in prison. Whitaker went on to commute the five years to the time Williams already served. If he proceeds without any violation, he faces 15 years on probation. If there are violations, he will face another 20 years of probation.

Whitaker sentenced Williams to 100 hours of community service, as well as a ban on contact with gang members or former co-defendants. He was also prohibited from staying in the metropolitan Atlanta area for the first ten years of his 15-year probation period.