Courtney Kramer challenged the Fulton County District Attorney to dismiss the case and release those being held without bond
The Republican running to unseat Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis promised to end the prosecution of Young Thug and the YSL trial if elected in November.
In a statement released Tuesday, Aug. 27, Courtney Kramer said dismissing the YSL case would be her “first official action” if elected. She also challenged Willis to dismiss the case immediately and “release the accused… who are being held without bond.”
Kramer criticized the Fulton County DA office’s handling of the high-profile case, which has dragged on for more than two years now and has already become the longest criminal trial in Georgia’s state history. “With no apparent justice in sight, I have become highly concerned and disappointed in the lack of prosecutorial oversight in this case,” Kramer said. “As time goes on, the public has witnessed a trial that is undoubtedly over prosecuted by attorneys who have repeatedly been admonished for lack of trial preparation: a complete and utter waste of the court’s time.”
Kramer went on to say she was “dumbfounded as to the motives” for spending taxpayer money on “a prosecution that is based almost entirely on witnesses with little to no credibility.” She added: “Not only have I lost any ounce of faith that justice is in fact being served and the people of Fulton County are being advocated for in an ethical and transparent manner, but this case should have ended by now. Even former DA Paul Howard declined to bring this case, and now the public can see why.”
The Willis campaign did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
Young Thug (real name Jeffrey Williams) and the other defendants were first arrested in May 2022 on a massive RICO indictment. After taking 10 months to seat a jury, the trial finally began in late Nov. 2023. This summer, the case was thrown into disarray over claims that Judge Ural Glanville held an improper meeting with prosecutors and a key state witness that excluded the defense. Glanville was eventually recused, and after a new judge took over in July, the trial resumed in early August.
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Things have hardly calmed down since then. After yet another mistrial motion was denied, the court was treated to a wild week of testimony from key prosecution witness Kenneth Copeland, who spent several days responding to most questions with “I don’t recall.” He even claimed he lied repeatedly to investigators during a series of police interviews pertaining to a 2015 drive-by shooting murder the prosecution claims Young Thug was partly involved in.
Kramer’s ostensible effort to out-flank Willis on the YSL trial comes on top of her opposition to Willis’ other major case: The prosecution of Donald Trump on charges he tried to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia (which has also faced its fair share of chaos, due largely to Willis’ relationship with a prosecutor on the case). Kramer cited the Trump indictment as the reason she decided to challenge Willis when she entered the campaign this spring. Kramer’s resume also includes stints working in the Trump White House and the Trump campaign.
