Young Thug could be heading to mistrial after jury hear redacted information
Young Thug‘s YSL case has been ongoing since November, 2023 and has had numerous setbacks along the way. Its painstakingly slow progression has already made it the longest-running case in Georgian history.
That said, a recent development makes the trial more likely to be a mistrial. On October 23rd, the presiding judge, Paige Reese Whitaker, said she would consider a mistrial, ending the trial. However, by state law, the case would have to start again due to the severity of the initial charges.
Thug did not answer whether he was keen to request a mistrial, so the court adjourned. However, there was a request from Nicole Westmoreland, the lawyer representing Thug’s co-defendant Quamarvious ‘Qua’ Nichols.
The inevitability of a mistrial was suggested after state witness Wunnie Lee read an Instagram post caption aloud featuring the “Free Qua” hashtag. However, the version shown to the jury had the name redacted.
The state attorneys admitted they had not prepared their witness properly by telling him “no to comment on it.” However, Huey’s lawyer Westmoreland highlighted that this had happened before before Judge Whitaker became the primary judge presiding over the case.
Speaking directly to the judge, Nichols stated, “Now the jury has repeatedly heard about Mr. Nichols being in jail, being in prison. And you cannot unring that bell. We would ask for a mistrial.” She added, “It is painfully obvious that the state is not prepping their witnesses.”
The judge criticised the state prosecution and sternly told them, “You should have presented [the witness] with a document that had that part [the hashtag] redacted,” she said. “It’s just sloppy… It should have occurred to you.”
This is just one of many developments in the YSL case recently, as on October 22nd, Georgia’s Supreme Court decided to overturn a contempt of court judgement against Young Thug’s attorney, Brian Steel.
The attorney had been held in contempt of court when he confronted the then-presiding judge, Ural Glanville, about a private conversation reportedly held between Glanville, prosecutors and one of the state’s witnesses before the trial.
Young Thug was arrested in May 2022 and has been in custody since the trial began last year. Although a mistrial has not officially been declared yet, if there are any more slip-ups from the prosecution or major setbacks, the case is likely to be a mistrial as it has become too messy.