Gov. Northam to sign probation reform bill alongside rapper Meek Mill
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to sign probation reform legislation during a ceremony on Thursday.
Northam will attend the ceremony, which is not open to the public, alongside Robert Rooks, the CEO of the Reform Alliance, an organization that aims to transform probation and parole legislation.
The organization was started when rapper Meek Mill received a years-long sentence for a gun and drug case which led to the #FreeMeek movement. The decade-long legal saga, which put Mill on probation for nearly 12 years, sparked a conversation regarding mass incarceration in the United States.
The Grammy-nominated, Philadelphia-born rapper will attend Thursday morning’s ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. Michael Rubin, a Philadelphia 76ers partner and Fanatics executive chairman, will also attend.
Northam will ceremoniously sign House Bill 2038, which limits the amount of active incarceration a court can impose as a result of a revocation hearing for a probation violation. The bill also limits the period of supervised probation to five years from a defendant’s release. Read the bill’s full text here.
This is a developing story. More information will be added as it is obtained.
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