Gov. Wolf pardoned Meek Mill, among hundreds of other Pennsylvanians, in his final days in office

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf granted rapper Meek Mill clemency on a 15-year-old drug and weapons possession charge in his last round of pardons, issued Thursday.

The pardon is one of 369 Wolf issued in January, bringing his total to over 2,540 during his eight years in office, the most of any Pennsylvania governor.

Mill — whose government name is Robert Rihmeek Williams — posted on Instagram a redacted official letter from the governor’s office dated Jan. 12 that clears him of charges of marijuana possession and carrying a firearm in Philadelphia.

“I’m only gone do more for my community,” the rapper wrote on the post, ending with the hashtag #newlevelsunlocked.

“Meek Mill has been an outspoken advocate about the power of criminal justice reform and second chances to change lives,” Wolf’s deputy press secretary Emily Demsey wrote in an email. “Governor Wolf is proud to pardon him.”

The fallout of the charges has followed Mill throughout his career, entangling him in a difficult legal battle that partially led to the reassignment of one judge who presided over his case. After serving eight months in jail for the charges incurred as a teenager, Mill was sentenced to prison three times in the following years for probation violations. Racial justice advocates say Mill’s subsequent incarceration illustrated the burden placed on Black defendants.

“The past 11 years have been mentally and emotionally challenging, but I’m ecstatic that justice prevailed,” Mill said in 2019 after a Pennsylvania appeals court overturned the initial charges. Since then, his organization REFORM alliance has lobbied to pass bills in 16 states that increase educational opportunities for inmates, decrease the length of probation, and create pathways for people to exit court supervision.

“The announcement of Meek Mill’s pardon represents a victory not only for Meek, but for everyone working to create a justice system that treats people with fairness and dignity,” said REFORM alliance CEO Robert Rooks. “I congratulate Meek on his much deserved pardon and look forward to working closely with him to bring freedom to others in the months and years ahead.”

Wolf surpassed former Gov. Ed Rendell, who last held the record for pardons with over 1,100. More than 600 of the pardons Wolf issued come from the Expedited Review Program for Nonviolent Marijuana-Related Offenses and the PA Marijuana Pardon Project, a duo of initiatives aimed at decreasing the number of people tied up in the legal system with nonviolent marijuana possession charges.

“Every single one of the Pennsylvanians who made it through the process truly deserves their second chance, and it’s been my honor to grant it,” said Wolf in a statement. “I firmly believe that with restored rights, pardoned Pennsylvanians prove themselves by stepping up and giving back to our communities.”