Young Thug Judge Delivers Harsh and Heartfelt Messages: ‘Opportunity’

The judge in the trial of rapper Young Thug delivered firm and heartfelt remarks as she accepted plea deals from three co-defendants this week.
Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, and the two remaining co-defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy and participation in criminal street gang activity, along with drug and gun violations.
Williams is accused of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which targets individuals working under a criminal organization.
Quamarvious Nichols accepted a plea deal on Tuesday. Rodalius Ryan and Marquavius Huey followed suit on Wednesday.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker took time to address each co-defendant, acknowledging the various hardships they have endured while warning them to stay out of trouble in the future.
Nichols agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to violate the state’s RICO Act. The state agreed to not prosecute Nichols on the remaining charges he was facing, including murder. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and 13 years on probation.
He accepted his plea deal just days before his 30th birthday.
“Make this a birthday present to yourself and to your children and to your wife and family that you will leave from here today and leave whatever you used to do behind,” Whitaker told him as she accepted the plea.
Nichols’ mother died in prison and his father was shot by police, which Whitaker acknowledged in her comments. She said that she believes he can be “a productive member of society” after he serves his sentence.
“This is an opportunity for you to do that, and for you to put your past behind you, the bad parts of it, and continue and make your children proud of you. And set a good example for them, an example that I guess, unfortunately, you were not lucky enough to have throughout the entirety of your childhood with your parents,” Whitaker said. “I’m sorry about that, but you can be the kind of parent that you ought to be to your children.”
She wished him “luck and good fortune” going forward.
Ryan, 20, was charged with conspiracy to violate the RICO Act. He agreed to plead guilty to the charge in exchange for a sentence of 10 years commuted to time served. He is also in the process of appealing a murder conviction that he is currently serving a life sentence for.
“”If you can be on the straight and narrow, then somebody your age, after serving some amount of time, is probably going to be considered favorably for parole,” Whitaker said. “And you just have to keep that in mind, that you need to be looking out for sort of the long run, and not playing the short game, but playing the long game so that you have a future in front of you still.”
She referenced a comment made by Leah Abbasi, one of Ryan’s lawyers, about how Ryan matured as the trial progressed.
“I wish that further maturity, much like Ms. Abbasi has said, that you have already exhibited throughout the course of this trial, that you were able to make better decisions and steer your life in a better direction,” Whitaker said.
Huey, 28, was facing multiple charges that could have amounted to three terms of life in prison and about 100 additional years if convicted.
He was sentenced to nine years in custody and 11 years on probation for multiple charges. He will serve the sentences concurrently. The state also agreed to not prosecute Huey on several charges, including one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Whitaker said the plea deal was “remarkable.”
“Please make sure that you abide by all your probationary conditions, because if you don’t, then you’re going to be back to see me. And because I recognize how much of a break that you are getting right now, I’m probably not going to be as lenient if you come back before me again because you are getting a huge opportunity to turn your life around.”
She also spoke about how Huey was impacted by the murder of his father in 2010.
“I am sorry for the loss of your father,” Whitaker said. “One would hope that to have anybody that they love taken from them in a violent way like murder might have an impact upon their lives that would lead them in the right direction, but it’s not particularly surprising that sometimes that’s not what happens, and it goes in a worse direction. Instead, I hope that with your age and with having really been faced with the distinct possibility of spending the entirety of the rest of your life in prison, the fact that you are getting this opportunity is not going to be wasted.”
Proceedings for the remaining defendants are expected to continue on Thursday.
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