Young Thug and YSL trial: Jury has a week off, application for deadline reduction submitted

FULTON COUNTY, Georgia. – The trial of Young Thug and YSL will continue on August 19 without a jury.

According to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker, the jury will not hear any testimony this week because a recess was granted. The time off was ordered by the original judge, Judge Ural Glanville.

In addition, the start of the hearings for lawyers and defendants has been postponed to August 19 and 20, both at noon.

Check back here at noon to see a livestream

Kenneth “Lil Woody” Copeland returned to the stand last week to repeat much of his testimony. The jury, which met with Judge Whitaker for the first time last Monday, was instructed not to consider Copeland's testimony after 3 p.m. on June 12, the date and time Judge Glanville's motion to recusal was filed.

Copeland was largely uncooperative on the witness stand, answering most questions with “I can't remember.”

When he spoke, he often explained that he lied to police in 2015 to avoid prison.

However, he seemed to have implicated a former friend named “Threat” in the murder of Donovan “Nut” Thomas.

Copeland testified in court that he gave Threat a rental car that was allegedly used in the murder. The car was originally rented by Young Thug (real name Jeffery Williams).

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Copeland also confessed to firing a drive-by shooting on the witness stand last week.

The jury is expected to meet again next Monday.

This week, attorneys and lawyers will continue to work to determine what evidence and testimony will be presented to the jury.

Request for setting a deadline for the state submitted

A motion was filed on behalf of the defendant, Deamonte Kendrick, to set a deadline for the State/Prosecutor.

The motion asks the court to prevent the trial from dragging on “indefinitely and beyond the time frame because of the State’s unpreparedness and inefficiency, the presentation of evidence causing unreasonable delays, the jury’s decision-making being poor,
and harm to Kendrick and other defendants.

The motion states: “The State has instructed and continues to instruct this court, these defendants and these 16 jurors.
through a difficult, arduous journey.”

The motion compares the defendants' lives at this point to that of Groundhog Day, except they wake up to go to court, not next to Sonny and Cher.

The state has told the court that it intends to call at least one hundred more witnesses to the stand. The motion also claims that the state has provided only a “very general description” of each statement.

The motion points out that the court is not a prosecutor's office and that the court has discretion to exercise “appropriate control” over the presentation of witness statements and evidence “in order to avoid unnecessary loss of time.”

Judge Whitaker has already made it clear that she believes the State has not organized its case particularly well, and she has repeatedly expressed surprise when she discovered that matters were not resolved before they were discussed in the courtroom.

Criticism of Fani Willis

In addition, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been criticized by her opponent in the November election for the way the case is being handled.

In a press release, Courtney Kramer called for the lawsuit against YSL to be dropped immediately.

Kramer said in her press release that she was “extremely concerned and disappointed by the lack of prosecutorial oversight” in this case.

Kramer said she would immediately dismiss the case if she is elected the next district attorney for Fulton County.

Young Thug and 27 others were charged in 2022 for violating Georgia's RICO, or racketeering, law and committing multiple violent crimes. After the longest jury selection in history (10 months), a trial against Young Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) and several co-defendants began in November 2023. It is now the longest trial in Georgia history. Prosecutors are trying to prove that YSL (Young Slime Life) is a criminal street gang responsible for numerous crimes, including murder. The defendants claim that YSL stands for Young Stoner Life and is the name of a record label founded by Young Thug. Young Thug faces 8 criminal charges. The trial was marred by various disruptions, including illness, the arrest of a juror and an attorney, the stabbing of defendant Shannon Stillwell, the removal of the judge originally assigned to the case, and more.