ATLANTA — Court proceedings were paused after Young Thug had "taken ill" and was taken to the hospital Thursday. After he was evaluated, his attorney said the rapper had been released and expected him to be back in court Friday morning to continue with jury selection.
Keith Adams, the rapper's attorney "had some difficulty of a similar sort" recently in the Cobb County Jail, where he's been held for nearly a year after being indicted in the sweeping RICO case against the alleged Young Slime Life street gang.
"I'm concerned about his well-being, his condition," Adams told Judge Ural Glanville.
The attorney said he had not spoken with the rapper, whose legal name is Jeffery Williams. He said he could try to make contact with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
Young Thug's attorneys asserted in legal filings last month that his client is "languishing" in jail as the jury selection process has stretched out for months, with many potential jurors trying to claim hardships for an exemption that the court is working through.
The rapper has been in custody for roughly a year since he was arrested last May and indicted on charges accusing him of leading the "Young Slime Life" gang, which claims affiliation with the Bloods. He has been denied bond on multiple occasions.
Williams, who maintains his innocence, is facing a gang activity charge from 2018 and a 2013 charge of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act.
In a motion filed on April 24, Williams' attorney Brian Steel says the 31-year-old is not able to stay healthy. Steel lists in the motion that Williams has access to limited healthy food options and relies on food with "zero health benefits," like chocolate and chips.
Steel says Williams has had little access to fresh air and sunlight since May 2022, outside of when he's transported to and from the courthouse, and exercise is limited because of the small cell.
Additionally, Steel claims that the rapper is "sleep-deprived" because he only receives five hours of sleep each night, and, on court days, must wake up between 3 and 4 a.m.
"By the end of the week, Mr. Williams is fighting to pay attention to the goings on in his case," Steel said in the motion.
In the filing Steel brought a new request for bond for Williams, arguing that "conditions can be imposed which permit bond to be set."
An attorney, Suri Jimenez, for one of the other YSL defendants said Thursday his client had experienced similar issues.
"Maybe a few months ago in Cobb County, he also was having chest pains and they had to look into it. I’m sure it’s all stress-related, because he’s a young healthy man," Jimenez said of his client, Cordarius Dorsey. “There’s no nutrition. That’s part of what the motion Mr. Steel filed. His health was deteriorating, because all he eats is junk food. There’s not even options to eat better.”
He added that Dorsey hasn't had time to take a bath or shower and that he has to get up at 3 a.m. to arrive at court by 6 a.m.
“The trial is tolling on their bodies and minds. Sadly, my client is serving time. He wouldn’t get out on bond. That’s not an option for him, but the young men that don’t have convictions should be out on bond," Jimenez said. "They’re presumed innocent.”
Why is Young Thug in Jail?
The rapper, whose legal name is Jeffery Williams, is one of 28 people charged with being part of the Young Slime Life street gang in a sweeping indictment brought last month by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
In particular, the Fulton County DA is targeting Young Thug as the alleged "head" of the gang - "he's the one they're all afraid of, he's the one that's King Slime" is how one prosecutor put it during the bond hearing.
However, the rapper's attorneys have argued there is no foundation for these accusations, saying he's being punished on the basis of rap lyrics and social media posts and little to no evidence of any criminal acts. They have emphasized his influence to the Cleveland Avenue community and to art.
Where does the case stand?
The ongoing jury selection is heading into its fifth month in the Young Slime Life RICO trial in Fulton County. Next month will mark one year since the original indictment was handed down by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, alleging that YSL committed nearly 200 criminal acts.
It could take even longer to finally seat those deciding the fate of more than a dozen alleged gang members.
There were originally 28 defendants listed in the initial indictment. Some did not get an attorney while others took a plea deal with the DA's Office, bringing the total down to 11 at this point.
Already, the YSL RICO trial is on pace to shatter records as the longest criminal trial in Fulton County history.