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Jurors on the Young Thug YSL RICO trial are finally speaking out following the conclusion of the case.
Jurors Break Silence on YSL Trial
On Tuesday (Dec. 4), local Atlanta news station WSB-TV reporter Michael Seiden interviewed Jason Collins, 38, a.k.a juror No. 56, who gave his thoughts on being involved in the longest trial in Georgia history at 170 days.
"It was extremely long," he said in the video below. "You pretty much put your whole life on the side. People didn't really know this but we have our personal lives going on. We actually had five jurors, including myself, have somebody pass away. So, you're talking about your whole entire life placed on hold...and pretty much, you become a family with each other inside the jury room. To sum everything up, this court case was just long."
Collins also believes song lyrics being used in the case backfired on the prosecution.
"I believe in freedom of speech, regardless if we agree or disagree," Collins added. "It's a very thin line to take lyrics and put into trial. [Young Thug] is an artist. He's expressing himself. And I think that we are going into a slippery slope when we start to analyze lyrics and music. That is something that I have to disagree with wholeheartedly. I personally don't think that lyrics should have been brought into the format."
Three more jurors also spoke out yesterday on the YouTube channel I'm Not a Lawyer But..., including juror No. 508, juror No. 225 and juror No. 387.
"I honestly didn't know anything about his music," juror No. 225 said in the below interview. "To be honest, the way that they presented him in his trial...They wanted him to look in this negative light but I saw somebody that kinda pulled himself up, got himself out of the position he was in and tried to help other people around. So it kinda shined a more positive light in my eyes."
Juror No. 508 believes the state wanted Young Thug and the other codefendants were just pawns.
"I think this whole case had something to do with Thug," she said. "The little fishes...collateral damage."
The YSL trial, which began on Nov. 27, 2023, finally came to a conclusion on Tuesday after the last two remaining defendants, Deamonte "Yak Gotti" Kendrick and Shannon Stillwell, were most exonerated. Yak Gotti was found not guilty on all charges while Stillwell was found guilty of a gun possession charge while being found innocent of all other counts. He was sentenced to time served.
The verdict comes after Young Thug pleaded guilty in the trial on Oct. 31 and was essentially sentenced to time served and 15 years of probation.
Read More: Here's What Young Thug Has Been Up to During His First Two Weeks Out of Jail
Check out jurors from the YSL RICO trial talking about their experience below.
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