young adults now, and what they mean to us. it's been a blessing to us. >> they all get together and laugh and tell stories and imagine. >> who would he have become as an adult? gosh, i'm sure he would've been magnificent, just as he was as a teenager. i'm kind of pissed that i don't get to, you know, meet his wife or meet his kids or, you know -- >> share all at the adult things we've had an opportunity to share with each other. but i think when i get rid of those, like, base feelings, the underlying feeling is just of gratitude that he was in my life, even for a brief moment in time. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. >> i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> this is dateline. . >> and free meek meal. >> how do you explain how your

case has become so important? >> this is the same thing that thousands of minorities are going to, they just don't have anyone to speak on it. >> now they do? >> now they do. >> rap star hashtag, symbol meek mill inspired a symbol. >> he has been wronged by the criminal justice system for a decade now. >> we have been conducting criminal justice with a chainsaw. >> in his first post prison interview he tells his powerful story. >> my father was murdered in south philly. have you ever seen somebody with their brains blown out? i've seen it several times. >> how key rose from the streets to the charts. sentenced to prison for a probation violation. >> get incent away is a mental torture. >> it affects all of us. >> and why he rose up for change. >> i'm still doing time for that case, something is not working. >> this is a tough judge. he violated, he got a tough

sentence, what is wrong with that? >> we take you inside his emotional journey to freedom. >> i feel like i am in the middle of a movie right now. we are there for every step. >> we are home. >> you made powerful friends, kevin hart, jay-z, michael reuben with the 76 sirs. >> i feel like god put me in a position to be the voice for the voiceless. this is ray more bigger than me. >> hello and welcome to dateline, countless young musicians dream of fame and fortune, meek mill was actually living that fantasy. he went from wrapping on street corners to rubbing elbows with some of the biggest names in hip-hop. then suddenly the rising star found himself in the spotlight he never imagined. what happened to meek mill and how he fought back struck a chord that had nothing to do with music. here is lester holt with the dreams and nightmares the meek

mill story. >> we are here today to demand justice. >> his plight sparked headlines around the world and protests in the street. >> free meek mill! free meek mill! >> his case to finding a cause for millions demanding reforms, charging the criminal justice system is corrupt and mass incarceration and a punitive justice system are unfairly ensnaring minorities. >> we're sick of a system that crushes the rights of black and brown people. >> his name is robert williams, also known as meek mill, a philadelphia rapper who has sold millions of albums. in november 2017 he was thrown in prison for probation violation. >> free who! >> meek mill? >> but it gave many hope that change is on the way. according to longtime justice

advocates like jason. >> what do we want? >> justice! >> in 25 years of working in criminal justice reform i cannot remember a moment that has the potential to galvanize the public the way that meek mill's horrible situation has done and is going to do. >> we are with meek mill as our cameras go behind the scenes to capture his journey to freedom. >> this is too crazy. this is too much for me. how easy it is to get into the system is probably 100 times harder to get out even if you're innocent. >> dreams and nightmares is the title of meek mill's 2012 hit debut album, its lyrics tell the story of a inner city kid who made it. overcoming the violence, poverty and chaos he grew up in. >> it's been a long time since i heard something that naturally charged. it's pure adrenaline, i'm mad we didn't have that for ourselves. >> like meek mill, musicians

questlove and black thought are from philadelphia. >> i think his style was uniquely philadelphian but it was a cadence, a registered that he was wrapping in that felt fresh. >> before he became a hip-hop star his family says meek was quite and shot. his talent came as a surprise to his mother and sister, kathy williams. >> when did you both realize that he had this musical talent? >> i was going to a party line and some boys came up and they were like, she doesn't have to pay this's meek's sister, and i found out they played his mix tape. >> you had never heard him wrap? >> no. >> never heard his tapes? >> no. >> his music sprang from north phillies street, he depicted it as a war zone with bullets everywhere, when he was only five years old a bullet killed his father. was that really his first

exposure to violence? >> i wouldn't say that because the neighborhood we lived in had violence, shootings. one of my brothers got murdered. cousins, all different types of people. the area we lived in is all it was about, murder. >> he saw music as his way out. >> see i'm the king, -- >> he painted his world in songs, first on the corner and then in local clubs. he also caught the eye of hip hop mogul jay-z who signed him to his management company, roc nation. there are red carpets, celebrity friends and one very high-profile romance with hip-hop star nikki minaj, with stardom came new connections to powerful people like michael reuben a self made billionaire and co-owner of the philadelphia 76 hours. the two met at a game and

instantly hit it off. what was your first impression of him? >> my first impression of him was actually, man, you can't judge a book by its cover. he's a hard-core rapper, but yet this guy was asking me so many great questions. it was like -- it reminded me of myself. >> the two were an unlikely pair, two sons of philadelphians with dramatically different upbringings. did you come to think that maybe there are two philadelphia's, one that you grew up in and one that he grew up in? >> whether that was to philadelphia's, two worlds, the way he has been treated and the way i'm treated, far before any success i've had are different ways of being treated. >> ruben says he had never been in trouble with the law but meek had. he told reuben he had been on probation for years. >> we're going to this place, and he said i'm not allowed to go. and i said do you need a note from your mother? we're going an hour away. he said no, i'm on probation. >> in november 2017, meek was

ordered to court for a hearing on a probation violation. michael reuben went with him. >> the probation officer got up in front of me and said all kinds of great things about meek mill and said we recommend no sentence. then the district attorney got up and said we recommend no sentence, i looked over at the team of lawyers and said i don't get it, why are we here? >> the judge said meek needed to be punished because he wasn't following the rules she set for his probation. she brought down the hammer and sentenced him to 2 to 4 years in prison. >> and when she said 2 to 4 years in state prison, i looked up at meek and he may not want to admit this but his eyes turned red and tears came out of his eyes. i don't ever cry but i started tearing up and crying, i looked at him i said, i got you. i am not going to stop until we fix this together. >> coming up -- mikael back behind prison

walls. >> what is your life back there? >> like a caged animal, basically. >> and a look back at the case that started it all. did the judge actually give meek a break? when dateline continues. s. ...thanks to dupixent. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. and can help improve lung function for better breathing in as little as two weeks. dupixent helps prevent asthma attacks... and can even reduce or eliminate oral steroids. imagine that. ♪♪ dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor.

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meek mill was sent to prison for violating the rules of his probation, an entire movement

rose up to support him. >> no justice! >> no peace! >> setting off a social media firestorm including meek's comedian kevin hart. >> really trying to get this sentence reevaluated. i mean, look, it's just not fair. >> jay-z wrote in the new york times, meek mill it's just one example of how our criminal justice system in traps and harass as hundreds of thousands of black people every day. >> when i read jay-z's new york times op-ed that i realized how serious it was. hopefully this is a turnaround period in which we really address the issue of why young black men are severely punished for crimes that their counterparts aren't. >> he had been thrown into prison for what many sauce petty offenses, he had recently been arrested twice one for an airport scuffle. and once for popping a really on a new york city street. both charges had been dropped but the judge had sent him to

prison anyways. michael reuben struggled to wrap his head around it. >> put bad people in prisons, murderers and prisons, rapists and prisons but don't put someone in prison because they had a technical probation violation. >> what meek scented this provision to set -- i first spoke to him in april 2018. what is your life like there? >> like a caged animal, basically, right now. this -- it's jail time. i don't think it gets any worse. >> why was he even on probation? it was for a crime that happened years earlier when he was 19. on the night of january 24th 2007 he was walking out of his cousins house, a gun in his waist band when he says a great charger pulled up and cops from philadelphia's narcotic field units jumped out. they were acting on an officer's claim that he had seen meek the day before still

drugs down the street. >> and the screaming, please, i ducked behind a car and i put the firearm on the ground they ran up on me and tackled me. and like, nissan my head put the cuffs on me behind my back, and barge to be through the front door. they barge me through the front door like with my head basically. when i came in, it was brutal, it got brutal. there was blood everywhere. i got knocked out about 34 times. did you ever see my mugshot? >> yes. >> you know no one's ever asked me how did my face gets so been in like that. it was just like, normal, that a black guy had a mugshot like that. >> the officer on the scene reggie graham claimed that meek pointed a gun at him, meek was charged with 19 counts including assault, gun and drug possession. the police say you pointed a gun at them, did you? >> do you think that's true? a black male, at 8:00 at night, with a full raid of at least

ten cops at one time with their firearms drawn. do you think i pointed a gun at them cops and left there without being riddled with bullets? we wouldn't even be having this conversation. >> he chose to waive a jury trial and placed his faith in the hands of judge journeys. >> i've known her honor for decades, and obviously she had a reputation for always being tough. >> brian and jordan sees our meek's defense attorneys, they did not represent him at his trial. some people say she is no nonsense. is that fair? >> i think it's a fair description of her, no nonsense. >> only one witness testified against meek, reggie graham the arresting officer. when meek took the stand he admitted he had a gun, but denied pointing it at anyone. he also denied selling drugs the day before his arrest. >> meek has always professed his innocence. >> was this essentially meek's

word against a police officer's word? if that with this case came down to? >> it really did, it was a bench trial and it was a one witness case, obviously the court returned the verdict taking the police's word over him. >> robert williams aka meek mill was found guilty on six of the 19 charges. including gun and drug possession and civil assault. prosecutors asked for 5 to 10 years in prison. bug the judge gave him a break, she sentenced him to 11 to 23 months in the county jail. then after less than six months she ordered his release. she could have put him in jail for a lot of years, and she didn't, and i look at that and think, sounds to me like she did him a favor. >> the problem with the sentence was in the jail sentence that was imposed it was the enormous amount of probation that was placed on top of it. >> eight years of probation, the judge would keep meek on a

short leash requiring him to follow the courts rules, among them, random drug test, travel restrictions and he had to submit his travel schedule for court approval. any missteps called a technical violation would send him to prison. so what exactly is a technical violation of one's probation? >> technical violation can be anything, it can be being late for a curfew, it can be being out of the jurisdiction, it can be something as minor as not being on time for a probation meeting. >> meek mill return to his life as a rapper but it wasn't long before he got in trouble. the judge found him in technical violation multiple times. in november 2012, she banned meek for touring for a month, after he was arrested for suspected marijuana use but never charged. in 2014, she sent meek to jail for 3 to 6 months for traveling

without permission and testing positive for opioids and added more years to his probation. and two years later, she slapped him with house arrest without permission to work for 90 days. again, for travel violations and forgiving of fake here in samples. again, added more years to his probation. a lot of law-abiding people who hear this story and say technicolor not, you know, the rules were laid out you knew what the rules were and you violated them. how do you explain that? >> we've never made any excuses for anything, when people are put on probation they are expected to tow the line, but when you put somebody on a tight rope, and i don't mean a probation but a tight rope, for their entire adult life they are going to fall off. >> according to the bureau of justice statistics in 2017, meek was just one of a staggering 4.5 million people under parole or probation

supervision in the u.s.. a third of them were african americans. >> this is the life of the black man. there are two americas. you've got an america where cops -- they'll smack you in your face with the pistol so fast -- doing horrendous crimes and getting away with it. and that's just our side of america. >> he always said to me and it's fascinating he would say michael, there are two americas. i would say meek there are not, he would say michael there is america and black america. i have to tell you something, he was right and i was wrong. >> so while the rapper sat in prison serving his 2 to 4-year sentence for a probation violation, and investigator looking into his original conviction was about to make a discovery that could change everything. >> how solid was the case against 19 year old meek mill? a key witness comes under scrutiny. coming up -- >> the only witness against meek was the police officer who arrested him.

>> i distinctively remember him saying, you arrested this kid, you beat this kid and you ripped hair out of this kid's hair. >> when dateline continues. ne continues caplyta can help let in the lyte. discover caplyta. caplyta is a once-daily pill proven to deliver significant relief across bipolar depression. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and bipolar ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. in the darkness of bipolar i or ii depression,

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to treat frequent heartburn, uniquely designed for absorption. get all day, all night relief with zegerid otc. >> in some ways, meek mill was lucky, unlike many in the probation system he had money and powerful people working to free him. including billionaire michael

reuben. >> you know, look, there has been a huge group focused on this every single day. people are talking dozens of times a day, fighting for him because we all felt so personally appalled by what had happened. >> luke is an investigator who joined the team that reuben and roc nation had bankrolled, he spent months combing through documents tracking down witnesses. >> the only witness against meek was the police officer who arrested him, his name is reggie graham. >> reggie graham served in philadelphia's narcotics fealty unit, the investigator tracked down a former undercover officer who had worked with graham for years. >> we worked in the squat together, talk to him every day. >> jeffrey walker wasn't involved with meek mill's case but remembers graham talking about his arrest. >> i remember sitting at my desk and reggie graham was in the office, we were doing

paperwork, we were all talking there. and reggie graham was talking about a kid named meek mill. i distinctly remember he said he arrested this kid, beat this kid and he ripped a roll of braids out of this kid's head. >> he said graham was a dirty cop and he should know because he was one to. >> i participated with reggie, in one particular job in 2003 where i watched reggie fabricate evidence. >> in 2013 walker was arrested by the fbi first dealing money from a drug dealer. in exchange for a lighter prison sentence he pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, and testified against fellow officers. so far, his information has led to more than 1000 overturned convictions in philadelphia. brendell kim was learning more about what was going on inside the police department as a time, and specifically, about reggie

graham. >> in the middle of 2013, reggie graham's last appears as a testifying witness for the commonwealth of pennsylvania, which suggested to us that prosecutors had some doubts about his credibility. >> there were rumors that the district attorney's office had compiled a list of cops to unreliable to testify in criminal cases. brendell kim got that list, and guess whose name was on it? none other than reggie graham. >> how did that affect meek mill's case? >> one of the things that our investigation has uncovered is that there were doubts about officers reggie graham's credibility going all the way back to the time that meek was arrested and before he was arrested. graham was already questionable witness at the time he makes the arrests, we know this because graham felt a lie detector test about conduct that occurred before meek's

arrest. >> he also learned the philadelphia police internal affairs unit investigated graham, and found he had engaged in criminal conduct and committed theft. he was never charged. soon after graham retired leaving the force and philadelphia. >> we identified where reggie graham is now living and i flew down to see him. >> reggie graham did not answer aren't numerous attempts to reach him, but he did talk to luke brendell kim. >> he adamantly denied that he ever made a single bad arrest. he made thousands of arrests he said. not one could he think of where there was a problem with the search warrant, or where the circumstances of the arrest did not play out exactly as was written in the police documentation. >> he absolutely denies? >> absolutely denies. >> in february 2018 meek's legal team filed a motion based on the new information about graham. they asked judge brinkley to toss meek mills conviction and

grant him bail. even the district attorney's office agreed that the conviction should be overturned. but judge brinkley who had overseen meek's case for a decade denied the motion for bail and set a date for hearing. meek would remain in prison. >> it's something i have never seen a judge do. >> one of meek's lawyer is joe, he said the judge has become a big part of the problem for meek. he thinks the rules she said for him were set to make meek fail probation again and again. >> there was one occasion where he went to los angeles for a series of shows, one of them was canceled he wanted to come back home a day early and he was not allowed. judge brinkley did not allow him to come back to philadelphia day early. >> another time, he says, the judge sentenced the rapper to community service and then surprised him. >> he was sentenced as part of his probation to go to a homeless shelter to assist the

homeless and judge brinkley showed up at the homeless shelter to watch him do community service and complain he wasn't serving food like she wanted to. >> i have never in 38 years in practicing law criticism leveled at a judge to this degree, this is really ferocious. >> charles's judge's brinkley's attorney, he says she is prohibited from discussing meek 's case publicly, he insists she has done nothing wrong, she. >> she has given him enough rope to hang himself, she didn't give him a severe sentence in the beginning, she gave him a chance and now she has yank that chance and said okay, now you are going to serve the sentence you should have gotten in the beginning. >> after being turned on by judge brinkley, meek or's attorney filed a motion with the pennsylvania supreme court. they asked if he could be released from prison on bail. >> the system has failed him at

every step of the way. it has set him up for a situation where he was destined to fail and he was destined to be thrown back in jail based on minor technical violations. >> meanwhile meek's friend michael reuben cape the case in the headline with a parade of high-profile prison visits like with patriots owner. >> he is an amazing a young man. this guy is a great guy. he shouldn't be here. >> and with meek's friend kevin hart. >> the frustration for me is why is he still there? literally it's the craziest thing i've ever seen in my life. >> the day of hearts visit was an exciting one in philadelphia, rubins team the 76 sirs were looking to close out the first round of the playoffs, so after the prison visit reuben headed back to his office to get ready. and that's when at about 3 pm he got the call. the pennsylvania supreme court had just issued a ruling in

meek's case. >> coming -- up an emotional day in the fight for freedom. >> oh my god, i've never been more excited in my life. >> this is a national holiday right now. >> when dateline continues. teline continues but my body was telling a different story. i felt all people saw were my uncontrolled movements. some mental health meds can cause tardive dyskinesia, or td, and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements in the face and body. it's the only treatment for td that's one pill, once-daily, with or without food. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential heart rhythm problems

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what's happening, where is nancy? those are the words -- with a hammer. police say it is too early to say what his motives were but confirmed it was a targeted act. on the campaign trail both president biden and former president obama were spotted at rallies last night in pennsylvania and georgia. with just 11 days until election day the attention is on the two states for control of the senate. now back to dateline. ro of the senate. now back to dateline >> welcome back to dateline, i'm natalie morales. rap star meek mill was in prison for parole violations

and his supporters were on a mission to get him freed. his legal team uncovered damaging information about the key witness at his trial almost a decade earlier. now mill's controversial case was about to take another stunning turn. once again lester holt with the dreams and nightmares the meek mill story. >> tuesday, april 24th 2018, michael reuben was getting ready for the biggest basketball game in philadelphia in years when his phone rang. it was the news he had been hoping for. the pennsylvania supreme court ruled philly's new favorite son should be released on bail. >> the first thing that went through my mind? it is meek it's gonna want to be at game five to close out this year is against the miami heat. >> you want him at the game here? >> i knew our players wanted him here, the city wanted him here. >> he will be out within an hour.

>> i'd rubins office it was a flurry of activity, he allowed our cameras to film it all. >> do you guys understand this is close. meek mill. >> it's gonna be especially in philadelphia. >> to get to the prison ruben had something special in mind for his friend. tell me about the helicopter? >> it's funny, the story of the helicopter is meek told me that in prison he kept having his dream and i came to get him in a helicopter. >> i'll call just, hold on. i called my partner, he is right across the street from the jail and in ten minutes they said first to land their. >> tipoff was only three hours away. on the helicopter, six years star point guard ben simmons fist timed reuben. >> we're going to become up right now! he's going to be at the game! we're gonna win by 50!

we're on the helicopter right now. we're going to pick him up right now. >> if you come into the game? >> 100 percent! >> oh my god. >> i've never been more excited in my life. >> minutes away from the prison rubin gets a call from kevin hart who had visited meek hours earlier. >> we are going to jail right now, everybody is going crazy. >> do you understand how thick this? is, there is no discussing it. >> the news was barely an hour old by the time -- but fueled by social media, big crimes had already beaten him there. >> an hour later meek mill, the face of the new movement climbed into reuben's waiting suv a free man. >> how excited are you to be on

the helicopter? >> with about an hour waiting till game time meek, still in his prison close boarded ribbons elic opt or. >> did you think this morning when you woke up that you would be out? >> hell no. >> what did i tell you today. >> you might be at the game tonight, i said that is impossible. >> you said he found out about his release just like most of his supporters. >> i went to play chess, then went into my cell. >> what time did you wind up knowing? >> the dudes came up -- i landed in the cell right now with my eyes closed. i didn't even know what to think. >> his release was breaking news in philadelphia, helicopters tracked his drive to the arena. >> hold on yep joe too. >> inside the car the calls

poured in, from his mom. >> all right, mom. >> his sister. >> this is a national holiday right now. >> i know, it's crazy. i can't even imagine what is going on. >> and of course his friend kevin hart. >> first of all i did it, okay? [laughs] >> you're taking all the credit? >> i did it. >> this is his jail outfit. >> what's up? >> an hour earlier was in a prison sale. now he was walking into the 76 sirs locker room. >> he's watching our venue. >> literally goes in the back has a barber come in and fix his hair up, takes a shower in the players locker room. >> we home! we home! >> has someone bring him close, comes out and rings the bell at 8:00. >> welcome home, meek mill!

>> 18 hours after he walked out of prison, i sat down with him to talk. so do you feel free, truly free? >> meek mill gives his first post prison interview and he doesn't mince words. coming up -- >> how do you explain why your case has become so important? >> this is the same thing that thousands of minorities are going through on a daily basis, they just don't have anybody to think about it on their behalf. >> now they do? >> when dateline continues. line continues

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prison? >> now i have a sense as i got out of prison. it's actually like a culture shock coming from a small salad back into the real world. >> less than 18 hours after his release mcmillan sat down with me for his first post present interview. yeah it felt like a dream, and >> when i got in my bed at night, which i didn't go to sleep, i close my eyes and felt like -- don't let me open my eyes back up, and i'm in a jail cell, they feel like this is just a good dream. because in jail, you dream al-ata being on the streets, and you wake up then you are back in prison. so it was playing mind games with myself, but if you like a dream come true just exit that way, and get right back to life, so quick. it was fast for me, it was overwhelming but it was nothing

but love and support. and i took it. >> free make! remake! we make! >> well the pennsylvania court freedom bail, the court denied his request to move judge brinkley from his case. and in june, 2018, judge brinkley denied mcneill's appeal asking her to overturn the 2008 conviction. >> he is still on bail -- >> yeah. >> so do you feel free, truly be free? >> no, i don't feel free. i didn't feel free since i this cage this case in 19. for me, i just pray, i believe god is my first lawyer. i really believe. that i don't feel fear at all. >> how do you explain how your case has become so important? >> i was a public figure, i'm a rapper, i aspire, a lot of people, a lot of spy these young children, my dream is a dream chaser, like chasing or dreams a matter which you do in life. no matter what color races,

where you come from, everyone goes to sleep at night and has a dream, and have something that they want to inspire to be. so this is the same thing that thousands of minorities are going through on a daily basis. they just don't have the platform to have anybody speak on their behalf. >> now they do? >> yeah, now they do at this point. i feel like i'm a sacrifice for a better cause. >> a sacrifice for those who grew up just like he did, surrounded by poverty and violence. it's a theme consistent throughout his music. >> i come from a violet -- light actually killing each other, our own people are killing each other. and when you hear these young kids talk about guns and things in that music. there's a reason for that. when you hear them talk about death, a lot. there's a reason for that, because this is what we went through, our environment, that we come, from it's really rough. >> iraq childhood may have lived and make into trouble with the law. but after he served his time in 2009, he never imagined his

probation would be his own type of prison. >> i thought the definition of probation was to help better you keep you on track, and not destroy you. >> instead of helping him succeed, make says he quickly found the terms of his probation too restrictive. both professionally and personally. >> ready to put this -- on now? >> one of the issues you had was basically reporting, you are required to notify if you were gonna go to another state? >> this is a perfect example -- the new jersey bridge is in walking distance, about four blocks east. my son goes to school in new jersey. my mother lives in new jersey. i have to call somebody, every day, just to go pick my son up from school. >> because it's in another state? >> i shouldn't have to call another grown person to pick my son up from school. >> another requirement of his probation was to be drug free. make admits he'd gotten hooked on painkillers. but he didn't understand why he

was punished, addiction to make him a criminal, he says. he was sick. >> i was addicted to opioids, popping percocet. on and off because it always been a battle with. me i've never been a guy to just high my whole life, and then drugs was the solution. i actually took off in the music industry and, i overwhelmed myself, i got caught up in the lights, the fame, and we've seen prints die from taking opioids. i was in the same boat, but it was a battle for me. >> but i got you all, back on probation violations -- taking other pills? >> yeah, it was a violation in court, taking pills i got caught. we set up a rehabilitation for me, it cleanse my body, i had therapy, and i never tested percocet again. >> by the time i sat down with him, mick had spent a third of his life under the control of the court system. >> the young minorities like, us being away from the get-go is that most important. the opportunity is the most important. if i'm not in the ghetto or on the corner, if i don't get down the street from, he's a killer,

he's a killer, he's a robber -- of harry again, i live in a suburban area where i could wake up and go sit on my set step, and i don't have to hear gunshots. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> mcneil is a term to use his fame and experience to fight for criminal justice reform. and he has found partners. because in philadelphia, changes in the air. >> a rap star, a billionaire, and a crusading da, now sharing a common cause. fixing the system they say is broken. >> coming up! >> is the answer of to lock fewer people? up >> the answer is absolutely lock fewer people out! >> rising up, reform! >> i think that put me in a position to be the voice for the voiceless. >> when dateline continues! when dateline continues

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meek mill's case is the path to reform. >> i think we're entering a new age of activism. >> jason plum is a founding board member of the innocence project. >> young people getting energized, taking to the streets, like they have since the vietnam. here now with one other heroes, meek mill, going through this nightmare situation, and shining the light on this broken system of ours, this criminal injustice system, i call it.

>> at the gets a this is dumb is a revolving door for people of color. too many of them are incarcerated. and even when they get out of prison, they are stuck in the probation system for years. >> we gotta push back against this politics, the fear and anger. >> brian statements, and founder of the equal justice initiative. >> i think the case of mcneill represents the critical problem we have in america, which is that we become the most punitive society in the world. we have the highest rate of incarceration in the world. we are throwing away people. the bureau of justice predicts that one in three blackmail babies in these -- expected to go in jail and prison. nobody seems to be upset about that. it's shameful -- >> one person who was making changes, is larry krasner, a long term civil rights attorney, now district attorney, of mcneill's hometown, philadelphia. in may 2019, krasner filed an appeal with the pennsylvania superior court, asking for a new trial for male.

and a new judge. two months later, the court granted both request. but rather than we try the rapper, the da offered a deal. and august 20 19th, more than a decade after his original conviction, robert -- williams, at this manner of gun violations. prosecutors dropped all other charges against. them >> and the sentence is no further penalty. >> outside the courthouse, meek mill thank you. supporters >> i'm free, i'm not on probation anymore, i want to go to court anymore, thank god, i appreciate it that a lot! >> to vote to keep fighting for them. >> i'll continue to do what i do, with the reform movement, and help the people that helped me. >> so i think y'all! >> it's a mission to district attorney shares. >> we call ourselves a land of freedom, we ought to be the land of freedom. and what we are in fact is the most incarcerated country in the world. >> is the answer to lock fewer people off?

>> they answer is absolutely to lock people up. we have not been focusing on the 6% of criminals who commit 60% of the crimes because we are so busy walking up everybody. >> how do you help people understand that the system can work for them when they are seeing what they believe is a huge injustice? >> you change it. i mean the only way that you can convince people that there is integrity and prosecution is by trying to prosecute with integrity. and i'm not speaking of myself, because i truly view this as a movement. >> shortly after taking office, krasner set out this internal memo to his prosecutors. laying out new guidelines that many criminal justice experts have called groundbreaking. >> and those guidelines were based on science rather than intuition. >> the new guidelines are designed to reduce the prison population. and bring fairness to sentencing. >> we have a policy that you don't ask for more than six months for a technical violation of probation or parole. absent extraordinary social

circumstances. often, our position will be don't violate them at all. let's find alternative ways other than jail, other than spending for the taxpayers money on jail. >> in the case up to make males probation, the children's office request no jail time at all. but the judge was set away for 2 to 4 years. >> it would be a position though that his case stand as a symbol of what is wrong with the criminal justice system? >> i think a lot of people view it that way. of course the irony here is that no one left it up a poor person. no one looked it up someone who is not famous. no one looked it up someone who's you know -- alleged tactical violations may even be less serious. >> there are a lot of meek mill's in the system? >> a lot of meek mills that are not privileged, and access to the -- >> iso that guy with all my, heart larry krasner, with a push that he came into philadelphia with. with trying to put a stop to mass incarceration.

she >> meek understands all too well after his long jury journey through the justice system, that's his system his case is hardly unique. >> i think we've always been divided in america where it's always black and white. i don't really call it black and white. a lot of black people are in prison, a lot of spanish men are in prison, a lot of these laws and policies are made to keep most of these minorities traps forever. >> i think mcneill will be to criminal justice reform, and a lot of ways, what's happened to the me too movement. so i think he's gonna shine a giant light on this incredible problem that we have. i think is going to help make it significantly better. >> he's able to actually make himself a catalyst for some real change. so -- you know, i hope that this isn't something that he takes for granted. >> so is our special responsibility, now that you are free, you have all these people you know rallied to your cause. do you feel now that you are in a bigger platform? >> yeah, i feel like god put me

in a position to be the voice for the voiceless. >> it's a responsibility he said that he takes to heart. >> at this point, it's not all about me having a light to shine on my situation. it's about thousands of others that are caught up in the situation. how can we fix young black man going to jail for frivolous reasons. other young children growing up without fathers and at homes. >> what would you say to them in general, for folks out relative or cause -- >> i would say let's continue, let's retire the free mcneill hashtag, and make it hashtag justice reform. >> that's all for this edition of dateline, i'm natalie morales, thank you for watching. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪