Judge Paige Reese Whitaker rejected Young Thug’s renewed motion for bond in his Georgia RICO trial on Tuesday (July 30). Judge Whitaker saw no reason to relitigate his request following Judge Ural Glanville’s recusal from the case.
“I’m not going to reconsider any bond issues that have already been considered and ruled upon by another court absent legitimate changed circumstances,” Judge Whitaker said.
Judge Glanville denied multiple motions for bond before Young Thug’s trial began in 2023. The incarcerated rapper’s attorney Brian Steel hoped Judge Whitaker would be more receptive to a proposal for house arrest.
“[Young Thug] endures the torturous conditions in the County Jail, to wit: twenty two (22) out of twenty four (24) hours a day locked into a small cement cell with no contact with another human being except when his counsel visits and in Court proceedings; inedible food; living in squalor-ant infested room and unable to see any activity/movement out of the cell’s ‘windows,’” Steel wrote.
Steel couldn’t persuade Judge Whitaker, who took over Young Thug’s case after two judges recused themselves. Judge Glanville exited the trial due to concerns about an improper meeting with prosecutors and a key witness. Judge Shukura Ingram was assigned the case but quickly recused herself over a potential conflict of interest.
Young Thug has remained in jail since his 2022 arrest. His trial is already the longest in Georgia history. It will resume once Judge Whitaker rules on several motions in the case.
Judge Whitaker denied two motions for mistrials and the prosecution’s bid to restrict the defense from speaking to the media on Tuesday. She didn’t rule on a motion to disqualify lead prosecutors Adriane Love and Simone Hylton. The judge said she needed more time to review the case before ruling on the potential disqualification of Love and Hylton.