A lot has happened since Young Thug’s jury selection began 9 months ago
You could’ve had a baby or completed a school year in the time that’s elapsed since jury selection began in Jeffery Williams’ trial.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - This week marked the ninth month of jury selection in Fulton County’s massive organized crime trial of rapper Young Thug and several other defendants.
The time that’s elapsed since jury selection began on Jan. 4 is equivalent to a full-term pregnancy, or the completion of an entire school year.
Individual juror questioning finally got underway in late July in the nationally watched trial of Jeffery Williams,, aka Young Thug. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville, who is overseeing the trial, has called almost 1,000 potential jurors since January. Several media outlets, including Hot New Hip Hop, are reporting more than 30 jurors have qualified, but not a single juror has yet been sat for the trial, which could last for a year.
Here’s what’s happened in the world since Young Thug’s jury selection began:
- Donald Trump was arrested. Again. And again.
- Jimmy Carter entered hospice care, then turned 99 just to disprove reports of his demise.
- The Writers Guild of America went on strike after a labor dispute. They’re back now.
- The United Auto Workers went on strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis. They’re not back.
- Atlanta-based UPS avoided a strike. Package deliveries were only slightly in danger before everyone came to their senses.
- The U.S. shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon.
- A Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.
- Silicon Valley Bank, America’s 16th, failed, creating the largest bank failure since 2008.
- Not to be outdone, San Francisco-based First Republic Bank failed weeks later, surpassing Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse to become American history’s second-largest bank failure.
- Canadian wildfires result in New York City being designated as having the worst air quality of any city ... on the entire planet.
- 17,000 acres of land burned and at least 98 people died during a series of wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
- Hurricane Idalia hit northern Florida and the southeast, the worst to hit Florida’s Big Bend in nearly 100 years.
- Harrison Ford returned to movie screens for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Not many people watched.
- “Barbie” debuted on the big screen. A lot of people watched.
- Sales of vinyl records exceeded CD sales in the U.S. for the first time since 1987.
- Ozzy Osbourne retired from touring.
- Willie Nelson held a two-day music concert for his 90th birthday party.
- Elton John put his Atlanta mansion on the market for a cool $5 million.
- And Young Thug himself released a new album called, “Business is Business,” proving you can enjoy artistic freedom in the music industry even if you’re behind bars (maybe especially if you’re behind bars).
Williams is on trial in Fulton County in a massive RICO case involving himself and eight other defendants. Prosecutors allege Williams and his co-defendants are members of the Young Slime Life (YSL) gang, while defense attorneys argue YSL is simply the name of a record label, Young Stoner Life.
The jury selection has already lasted longer than any other trial in Georgia history, and has been repeatedly plagued by arrests, charges, and disruptions. The trial itself could last for more than a year. Georgia’s longest jury selection and its longest trial both came in the Atlanta Public Schools teacher scandal of 2014-15.
Young Thug is facing eight criminal counts under a federal law that was originally enacted to fight organized crime. Georgia is one of 33 states that has its own RICO law, but in the Peach State, the alleged criminal enterprises do not have to have existed as long as the federal law.
Download our Atlanta News First app for the latest details on Young Thug’s historic trial.
Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.
