After a nearly two-month break, the YSL trial’s jury returned to the courtroom to hear testimony in the RICO case against Young Thug and other alleged gang members. When Judge Paige Reese Whitaker took over the case after Judge Ural Glanville’s recusal, experts agreed a mistrial seemed likely. But as Whitaker heard motions and resolved trial details over the past few weeks, it began to look like she was laying the groundwork to resume the case where it had paused. Whitaker made those plans official on August 9 when she denied the defense’s final mistrial motion, clearing the way for the jury’s return today. Now, with Kenneth Copeland, a.k.a. Lil Woody, back on the stand, the trial is going full steam ahead.
It had paused in the middle of testimony from Woody, an associate of Thug’s YSL Records and a key witness for the prosecution. Following Glanville’s recusal over a private meeting with Woody and prosecutors, Whitaker decided Woody would have to redo all of his testimony since the defense’s first recusal motion, filed on June 12. Woody had told Whitaker he might or might not decide to testify when the trial restarted, but this morning, after a contentious exchange with the prosecution, he agreed. When the jury returned, Whitaker instructed them to disregard all of Woody’s testimony since the afternoon of June 12 and had their notes taken away.
Since returning to the stand, Woody has been occasionally combative with the prosecution. He has answered most questions with “I do not recall†and claimed many of his past statements were lies. Woody also said multiple times that he feels “pressured†to testify to avoid being held in contempt of court and jailed. “I’m not trying to say the wrong thing so y’all can lock me back up,†he said at one point. The trial continues for the rest of the week, before another previously scheduled break the week of August 19.