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UPDATED 12/12, 11:00 a.m. ET: The stabbing was again referenced in court on Tuesday morning, with Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville saying the "medical issue" remained in progress.
For now, the trial is on hold until Jan. 2.
See original story below.
A defendant in the larger YSL RICO case was stabbed in a Georgia jail overnight, thus forcing Monday morning's previously scheduled court session to be called off.
As reported by regional outlet WSB-TV, defendant Shannon Stillwell (a.k.a. Shannon Jackson) was stabbed by a fellow inmate at the Fulton County Jail. Additional information was not immediately made public.
When reached for comment by Complex on Monday, a rep for the Fulton County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Stillwell had been stabbed. An official statement is forthcoming, the rep added.
Though it wasn't immediately clear whether Monday's scheduled court proceedings in the case (the bulk of media attention of which has focused on Young Thug) would be impacted by the incident, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville ultimately confirmed that they would.
"Don’t get too comfortable, alright?" Judge Glanville told jurors Monday morning, as seen in the 11Alive-streamed video up top. "We’ve had a medical issue come up with one of our participants so I’m going to have to recess for today. These things happen."
Per Glanville, proceedings will resume, at least in some form, on Tuesday morning.
“We’ll just see how things go at that point in time,” he said. “We’ll take the week as it comes.”
New York Times reporter Joe Coscarelli later spoke with Stillwell’s lawyer, who said his client is “with us” and “alive,” although he made a point to highlight the possible severity of the attack.
“But I fear that it was serious,” Max Schardt, Stillwell’s lawyer, told the outlet.
The YSL RICO trial began in late November, with Thug's attorney, Brian Steel, swiftly bringing a mistrial motion after prosecutors' "intentional misconduct." As Steel argued at the time, prosecutors having not shared “all of their displays and opening statements,” thus running against a prior order from the judge, constituted the type of misconduct that should result in a mistrial.
“How do we just violate court order?” Steel said. “So, yes. I have a serious motion for a mistrial, because it’s intentional misconduct.”
However, Steel’s motion was denied.
As we've pointed out throughout the extensive coverage of the case, the use of lyrics in criminal arguments is, to put it mildly, a slippery slope. Such practices, which are especially apparent in the YSL RICO case specifically, are not only grossly criminalizing one's artistic process but are also used largely against Black artists and creators. For example, when was the last time you heard about a country artist's lyrics or a punk band's words being used against them in a criminal setting?
To that end, the Protect Black Art petition is worth checking out.
