A new probation reform bill has been signed in Philadelphia and rapper Meek Mill was spotted with Gov. Josh Shapiro during the ceremonial bill signing in the city Friday.
According to NBC10, the new probation law aims to limit the length of probation and prevent people from being sent back to jail for minor violations in a state with one of the highest rates of residents who are incarcerated or under supervision.
In a video that is going viral, Meek Mill can be seen explaining how he was committing minor violations while he was on probation because he wanted to take his son to school. “Every time I crossed the Ben Franklin to pick my mom up to take my son to school in New Jersey I was actually committing a crime the whole time for technical violations and I didn’t have any way to get around that because I was already in jail my whole 20’s. My son saw me in prison and I wanted to take my son to school so I thought that it’s either I’m going to go to jail or I was going to take my son to school.”
The bill will limit the circumstances under which a non-violent offender on probation can be sent to jail. It does not, however, put a cap on the length of a probation sentence.
Judges can continue to “stack” probation sentences and impose probation after incarceration, the ACLU said.
The bill also fails to provide an automatic or efficient way to end probation early, it said.
Under it, a judge can order an end to probation, regardless of any agreement on a sentence between a prosecutor and the defendant. But judges no longer have wide latitude to extend probation.
Probation is required to end unless the defendant commits a crime that demonstrates that they are a threat to public safety, has not completed certain treatment, or has not paid restitution under some circumstances.
The bill also prohibits courts from extending someone’s probation for not paying fines or court costs if they are found to be unable to afford it.