On February 18, the jury in A$AP Rocky’s trial reached a verdict, finding the rapper not guilty. Had he been convicted of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, he could have faced decades in prison.
Understandably, Rocky was overjoyed upon hearing the news. In a moment of celebration, he (literally) leaped into the arms of his partner, Rihanna, and his mother. Outside the courtroom, the rapper spoke directly to the jury, expressing his gratitude.
“I really want to thank the jury for making the right decision. I am just so thankful. This is crazy right now,” Rocky said.
In the aftermath of the trial, one juror has stepped forward to share their perspective on what transpired during the three-week proceedings.
The main goal was justice
Following the verdict, an anonymous juror spoke with blogger Nique at Nite during a YouTube livestream, shedding light on the deliberation process.
While deciding on the case, some jurors, including the interviewee, initially had unanswered questions about the alleged crime. However, they emphasized that the group was committed to reaching a fair outcome.
“Everybody was really focused on delivering justice,” the juror explained. “We discussed all the issues, all the questions that we had, clarified those, and reviewed some pieces of evidence more closely. I think we did the best we could with the instructions and the evidence we had.”
During the trial, Rocky’s defense argued that the gun allegedly used against A$AP Relli was a prop carried for security purposes. However, the jury didn’t entirely accept that explanation.
“I think most of us felt it was a real gun,” the juror revealed. “Just from the behavior on the videos and from some of the testimony. Unfortunately, a lot of the witnesses—we didn’t consider all of their testimonies to be reliable … I didn’t really believe it. I didn’t think that … they had really convincing evidence that it was a prop gun.”
Despite what they may have thought behind the scenes, the jury voted for A$AP Rocky to be back outside, to the delight of Rihanna and his fans.
Some of Rocky’s closest friends have also shared their reactions. “I almost passed out when they read the verdict that my brother Rocky is not guilty!” said Tyler, the Creator. “24 years to who? A$AP forever y’all n***as is bugging,” said A$AP Nast.
Hopefully, Rocky finally releases DON’T BE DUMB to celebrate this significant victory.
