Rating *****
You do not have to be a fan of Rap music to enjoy this compelling expose of our broken criminal justice system. For all the ” he got what he deserves” critics out there, you have no clue what you’re talking about.
I was aware of some of the facts surrounding this story. I knew that Meek Mill was a rapper imprisoned due to a technical violation of his probation. I didn’t know the details of his original conviction or the story of his eleven-year odyssey. This excellent five-part docuseries fills in the gaps while also exposing issues such as mass incarceration, problems with the probations system, plea deals, inequities with the bail system, ineffective counsel, and crooked cops.
I had planned on watching each episode over a series of nights. I ended up binging on all five. Each episode ends with a cliffhanger.
One of the most glaring anomalies about Meek’s case is the actions of Judge Genece Brinkley. This one-woman wrecking ball is the poster- child for injustice. The only rationale I could come up with for her mean-spirited decisions is that she was infatuated with Meek Mills. She certainly wasn’t motivated by a sense of fairness. How many other poor souls are wasting away because of her decisions?
When the tables are finally turned on Judge Genece Brinkley and the detectives that started the whole mess, there is a sense of redemption, even though the saga is not entirely over for Meek Mills.
My only complaint is that the filmmakers glossed over one crucial fact. The case against Meek Mills starts with the suspicion of drug activity at the house were Meek Mills was staying with extended family. The detectives involved were allegedly not so much interested in disrupting drug activity as they were in robbing suspected drug dealers of money. According to Meek’s cousins, the detectives found some thirty-thousand dollars in cash at the residence, which they did not report. The filmmakers did not explain how and why there were thirty-thousand dollars in a home in a poor neighborhood stashed away in plastic bags.
Not everyone has the resources and support that Meek Mill had. Still, his case highlights the need for criminal justice reform. The reality is that there are millions of people caught up in a system that wants to penalize people indefinitely.
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