Exclusive: Meek Mill's Mother 'Hopeful' Son Will Get Out Of Jail Soon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The mother of imprisoned Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill says she's hopeful her son will get out of jail soon.
Our Chantee Lans sat down with for an exclusive interview with Mills' mother, Kathy Williams, who spoke candidly about her youngest child and only son.
Rameek, as she calls him, which is his middle name, is now in state prison in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Philly DA's Office: 'Strong' Likelihood Meek Mill's Conviction Will Be Reversed
She described his rise to stardom and fall to now being behind bars.
Meek Mill lost his father to gun violence at the age of five.
"He was a good kid, he was quiet, humble, didn't talk too much," said Williams.
Williams said she never realized he was a serious rapper until he reached his teenage years.
"When he started hanging with his cousins, over in South Philly, I noticed that he started rapping and started on his little lyrics and stuff like that. I thought it was just a hobby because I'm into music. I like music too but not knowing that it was going to go this far," she said.
But his rise to fame came crumbling down after parole violations from a decade old gun and drug conviction. It landed him in Pennsylvania State Prison for two years.
She says Meek is doing well, but "wants to know when it's going to be over."
"I'm the one that's not holding up too well. I mean every day I got to wake up thinking ok, this day it's going to happen, this day it's going to happen, this day it's going to happen and then I'm not there no more," said Williams.
Handing down Meek's sentence came after a prosecutor recommended that he not be imprisoned for the violations, saying that he has been clean since January and that he has grown as a person since his original crime.
Meek's lawyers filed three motions to the Supreme Court asking for bail.
Last month, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner confirmed that retired Philadelphia Police Officer Reginald Graham, who in 2007 testified against rapper Meek Mill, appeared on a list of so-called "tainted cops."
Sources: Officer Who Testified Against Meek Mill In 2007 Appeared On 'Tainted Cops' List
Meek's team wants his conviction overturned.
"What wasn't known at the time of this trial was evidence being presented that was untrue. We've never discovered that, and discovering it now requires us to go back to the beginning, to undo the conviction and we believe at that point and time, the conviction will not move forward," said Brian McMonagle, who represents Meek Mill.
"I can tell you this, the defendant testified that he had a gun that day and testified that he sold drugs," said Charles Peruto Jr., who's Judge Genece Brinkley's counselor.
Brinkley sentenced the 30-year-old rapper to two to four years in prison.
Meek's legal team has asked to have the Common Pleas Court judge removed.
"I've read many accusations that she's lawsuit happy, that isn't true, that she hurts people by suing them and threatening the people, which is absolutely not true. She follows the law. What you have here is a tough judge but she's tough across the board. She's tough with everybody. If you don't want a tough judge, then don't elect them," said Peruto.
"Judge has an open mind. If they present evidence that the whole case was made up and it's terrible, she'll throw it out, but they haven't done that so far," Peruto added.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner recently submitted a filing to Meek's lawyers stating that there is a strong showing of likelihood" of his conviction being reversed, in whole or in part.
In a tweet last Friday, Governor Tom Wolf said he backs the DA.
Pennsylvania Governor Supports Meek Mill's Release From Prison
"I support D.A. Larry Krasner's position in the case of Robert Williams (Meek Mill). Our criminal justice system is in need of repair. That's why my admin has made efforts to invest in programs that divert individuals from the system, improve public safety, and promote fairness," Wolf tweeted.
"This isn't really just a violation of civil rights. It's now at a point where it's at human rights and we're praying that the Supreme Court will intervene and bring Meek home," said McMonagle.
Williams tells CBS3 that she's "very hopeful" that her son will be released soon.
Meek Mill remains behind bars here in Chester. His legal team hopes to have a hearing in court in the coming weeks to be able to set him free.
