Young Thug trial delayed at least a day after co-defendant is stabbed in jail

ATLANTA (AP) — One of the five co-defendants on trial with rapper Young Thug has been stabbed at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, delaying the proceedings for at least a day, authorities said.

Shannon Stillwell was stabbed multiple times Sunday evening and was in stable condition, the county sheriff’s office said in a news release Monday. Stillwell was stabbed by another inmate, Willie Brown, during a fight between the two men, who were housed in the same zone, the sheriff’s office said. The cause of the fight wasn’t known, the release said.

Brown, who was arrested in July 202O and was being held without bond, was charged with aggravated assault and possession of prohibited items in relation to Stillwell’s stabbing. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had a lawyer who could comment on the charges.

The racketeering conspiracy trial for Stillwell, Young Thug and four others began last month after about 10 months of jury selection.

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Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville dismissed the jury for the day Monday morning, saying one of the defendants had “a medical issue.” Glanville told the jurors they should return Tuesday “and we’ll just see how things go at that point in time, and we’ll take the week as it comes.”

The jail has long been plagued by violence and other problems, and a lawyer for the sheriff’s office last month told state lawmakers that inmates had fashioned weapons from broken flooring and pipes. The U.S. Department of Justice announced this year that it was investigating detention conditions in Fulton County.

Prosecutors say Young Thug, whose given name is Jeffery Williams, led a violent street gang called Young Slime Life, or YSL, that was responsible for killings, shootings, carjackings and other crimes over about a decade. They allege that he used his successful music career and social media posts to promote the gang and establish its dominance.

Defense attorneys have said police and prosecutors relied heavily on jailhouse informants who had every reason to tell them what they wanted to hear. They have also criticized prosecutors’ use of rap lyrics as evidence of crimes, saying their clients’ art and free expression are being improperly used against them.

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This story was corrected to reflect that Brown was arrested in July 2020, not March 2022.