The Young Dolph murder trial seemingly ended before it started. Following a four-day trial and four hours of deliberation, Justin Johnson was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm in connection to the Memphis, Tenn. rapper’s 2021 killing. In a shocking move, Shelby County Judge Jennifer Mitchell sentenced Johnson on the spot to life in prison on the murder charge. Grand opening. Grand closing.
When it comes to high-profile hip-hop-related trials, that isn’t always the case as we’ve seen recently. Young Thug’s Georgia RICO trial is by far the longest trial in the state’s history—137 days as of the writing of this article—and there doesn’t appear to be an ending in sight. Thug has been behind bars fighting the case since May of 2022. YNW Melly has been locked up since February of 2019 fighting a double-murder charge. His first 19-day trial in 2023 ended in a hung jury following two days of deliberations. He is slated to be retried in 2025.
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The Dolph case was different and proved it doesn’t always takes weeks for justice. Though it took almost three years from the time the suspects were arrested to the first trial, the prosecution went swimmingly, largely due to the abundance of evidence against accused killer Justin Johnson. Johnson’s codefendant Cornelius Smith testified against him. Johnson’s own half-brother took the stand.
They both corroborated the prosecution’s assertions that Yo Gotti’s brother Big Jook put a $100,000 hit on Dolph that Johnson, Smith and their codefendant Hernandez Govan were trying to cash in on by killing Dolph. In addition, there was a substantial amount of surveillance footage that was instrumental in convicting Johnson. Smith and Govan will be tried at a later date
While the swiftness of the Young Dolph murder trial seems to be an anomaly, others have been less drawn out as well. The PnB Rock murder trial concluded after 12 days. It took less than four hours for a jury to find Freddie Trone and Tremont Jones guilty. Tory Lanez’s trial lasted 10 days. A jury convicted him of shooting Megan Thee Stallion following a day of deliberations in December of 2022.
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Diddy’s upcoming trial for sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution appears to be the next high-profile hip-hop case on the docket. With the full case yet to be laid out, it’s unclear if Puff will see a chance at victory or have no way out.
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