Some legal experts are questioning why the federal government accepted a plea deal offered by lawyers representing an Atlanta hip hop artist who was facing federal gun charges.
Yesterday, T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, Jr., plead guilty to illegally buying machine guns. In exchange for his plea, T.I. must perform 1000 hours of community service by late March of next year.
The deal is unusual considering T.I. was a convicted felon prior to federal gun charges. Atlanta defense lawyer Page Pate says cases like T.I.’s usually leave defendants with at least a 5 year sentence.
There are a lot of people who are sitting serving time in federal prison right now who would love to talk to schools and churches and other community groups to serve some of their time, but they can’t do that because they don’t have his celebrity.
US Attorney David Nahmias yesterday defended the agreement saying T.I. has a greater chance of positively influencing at-risk youth than any government awareness campaign. T.I. could also face stiffer penalties if he breaks the plea deal.
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