When Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis announced the high-profile indictments of rappers Young Thug, Gunna, and some two dozen others in early May, she made a bold accusation. Willis said the suspects, said to be affiliated with the criminal street gang Young Slime Life, are responsible for up to 80 percent of Atlanta’s violent crime.
Legal analysts, reporters and others who have been following the case are questioning Willis’s figure.
The Atlanta Objective publisher George Chidi joined WABE’s “Closer Look” host Rose Scott to discuss the Y.S.L. backstory, and mentioned that even though any violent crime percentage is too high, that 80 percent seems “overblown.”
“In part because I want to see the numbers from the Fulton District Attorney’s office, like the specific cases that they can use to substantiate that,” Chidi said.
The high-profile indictments include racketeering — violating Georgia’s RICO Act. RICO is the acronym often used to describe the law against racketeering: It stands for ‘Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations.’ It’s a way to hold people accountable for influencing criminal activity — even if they don’t pull the proverbial trigger.
