On Thursday, Young Thug walked free after taking a plea deal. The deal came after negotiations with the prosecution fell through, and sentencing was left in the hands of Judge Paige Reese Whitaker. He pleaded guilty to several charges, including gang involvement and weapons and drug offenses. Judge Whittaker sentenced Thug to 40 years, with the first five years served in prison commuted by time served. She also gave him 15 years of probation and thousands of dollars in fines. Additionally, he is barred from the metro Atlanta area for the first 10 years of his probation, except in special cases. He must perform one hundred hours of community service every year of his probation. He must also deliver four yearly presentations on the negatives of gang and gun violence.
Some terms of Young Thug's release did not sit well with Thug's father, Jeffery Williams Sr.. When asked by reporters outside of the courthouse for his thoughts, specifically about his son being banned from the metro Atlanta area for the next decade, Williams made his displeasure clear. "I'm totally against that, because this is where he's from," he said. "And to have a district attorney take that away from him that isn’t a resident from here. She’s from another state, and to see her take a man away from where he’s from, to have to go live somewhere else? That’s offensive to me."
Young Thug's Father Criticizes Terms Of Son's Prison Release
Jeffery Williams Sr. gave additional thoughts on the outcome of the case. He said he would have preferred to see Young Thug continue to fight the case, but felt "great" that his son was coming home. He also expressed that he was looking forward to hearing Thug come back to music after some time away. Another term of Thug's release was that he had to change his lyrical focus (i.e. no more "gun talk"). Williams Sr. hopes he doesn't, saying it would be "sad" if he did.
Now that Thugger is free, he can get back to doing what he loves: making music. Earlier in October, Thug posted on X (formerly Twitter) about Future, Drake, and Metro Boomin, hopeful that the three can work through their strained friendship. Future reposted Thug's call for peace, suggesting that he may be open to working things out with Drake after he and Metro collaborated on the highly publicized "diss album," We Don't Trust You. Regardless of how that goes, fans have been anticipating Thug's own solo comeback for years. Considering Thug's prolific output, his grand return to music could be imminent.
