Why It’s Important That Lil Wayne Goes To Prison
By: Josie Klakström
Tags: Celebrity, Rich, Justice, Legal, Guns

Why It’s Important That Lil Wayne Goes To Prison

Yesterday Lil Wayne (birth name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.) was arrested after a search of his private jet uncovered a gold-plated gun in his luggage. The 38-year-old already has a weapons charge dating back to 2009 in New York and could face up to 10 years in prison if charged this time.

Are we shocked? Possibly at his stupidity, but have we come to just roll our eyes at celebrities being arrested and often released without severe consequence? Yes.

Lil Wayne with President Donald Trump via Twitter

In no way is Lil Wayne the first celebrity to see the inside of a court room but it’s time that they were held accountable for their actions, as the rest of us are.

In 1988, 17 year old (already famous) Mark Wahlberg attacked two men. The first he beat so severely, the man was knocked unconscious. That same night, he attacked another man, Hoa Trinh, and blinded him in one eye. Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder and spent 45 days in jail.

This was not Wahlberg’s first violent episode. A year earlier, he and his friends chased three children shouting, “Kill the n*****s” while they threw rocks at them. The next day, he verbally attacked another group of black children at the beach, which encouraged other white men to join in the abuse and rocking throwing. “But it was the ‘80s!”, I hear you say. It should not have happened once, let alone twice. He was charged with violating the civil rights of his victims. The case was settled the month after.

Mark Wahlberg via CBS News

In 2014, Wahlberg requested a pardon for the attempted murder. The reason? He wanted a concessionaire’s license for his restaurant business, and to work closely with local law enforcement helping children who are deemed vulnerable. The prosecution argued, “Wahlberg has never acknowledged the racial nature of his crimes”. The pardon was denied.

Justin Bieber is another who has managed to get out of charges in the past. In 2014, the 19 year old was arrested when he was caught drag racing a rented Lamborghini Gallardo in Miami Beach, Florida.

The officer who arrested Bieber reported that he smelled alcohol on the teenager’s breath and was concerned with Bieber’s continuous searching in his pockets, so he cuffed and arrested him.

Justin Bieber via Miami Beach Police Department

When breathalised, Beiber blew a .014 and .011, which were under the Florida limit for driving while intoxicated. However, the urine sample taken from the popstar showed Xanax and marijuana use that evening.

Justin Bieber was charged with resisting arrest, driving under the influence and driving with an expired licence.

The state agreed to drop the DUI charge if he plead guilty to careless driving and resisting arrest. He paid a $500 fine and took part in 12 hours of anger management.

Let’s not forget R.Kelly. In 2002, a tape of the singer (birth name Robert Sylvester Kelly) having sex with an underage girl surfaced. He was charged with 14 counts of child pornography, but a jury acquitted him. The defence lawyers argued that the girl was unidentifiable despite multiple prosecution witnesses identifying the girl.

As we’ve all read, R. Kelly’s past is full of indecent acts against women and children, and let’s not forget the alleged cult many of his female fans found themselves in.

R Kelly via theguardian.com

Fortunately, R. Kelly is now in a long, ongoing court battle with more recent charges of 20 counts in four separate indictments, including child pornography charges and sex trafficking.

Granted, monsters like Harvey Weinstein have finally been given the justice they deserve but in a world where red flags are more obvious, shouldn’t more celebrities be accountable for their crimes, before they hurt more people?

In the United States, one person every 50 minutes dies from drink driving incidents. Though this number has fallen by a third in 30 years, that’s still 10,000 lives a year.

Lindsay Lohan was in and out of jail many times but has never been given a harsh sentence despite her continuous alcohol and drug issues.

Lindsay Lohan via usmagazine.com

In May 2007, the 20 year old was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of cocaine. Two months later, she was arrested again for the same crime, plus driving with a suspended licence. For this, she was sentenced to take part in an alcohol education program, some community service, one day in jail, and three years probation.

Her time in prison amounted to 84 minutes, due to overcrowding.

She is not the first to be given a short sentence for drink driving. In 2006, Nicole Ritchie spent 82 minutes incarcerated after witnesses reported her Mercedes-Benz SUV driving the wrong way down a freeway in Burbank, Los Angeles.

These incidents don’t just happen on American turf. In 1987, Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey caused a car crash in Ireland, while crossing into the wrong lane. They hit a Volvo which contained a mother and daughter, who both died instantly.

Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey via pinterest.com

According to Irish law, the sentence for causing death by dangerous driving was at least 18 months in prison at the time, yet Matthew Broderick, who was in control of the vehicle, was convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving and only fined £100. Family members called the verdict “a travesty of justice”. He later went on to appear in a multi-million-dollar Honda commercial, that aired during the 2012 Super Bowl.

As for Lil Wayne’s newest arrest, this isn’t the second or even third time that he’s been in trouble with the law.

In 2007, he was arrested in New York City following a performance. Police discovered him and another man smoking marijuana near one of the tour buses. After he was taken into custody, police found a .40 caliber pistol near the rapper. The gun was registered to Lil Wayne’s manager. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana and served eight months.

After this stint in jail, Lil Wayne appeared at the Grammys and recorded multiple tracks. By 2008, he was worth around $22 million.

That same year, his tour bus was stopped in Arizona where a dog unit found 105 grams of marijuana, 29 grams of cocaine, 41 grams of ecstasy, and $22,000 in cash. He pled guilty but couldn’t show up for his sentencing because he was already in jail on a weapons charge at Rikers Island. Instead, the judge tacked on 36 months of probation.

Lil Wayne could have spent at up to five years in prison for just the marijuana, depending on where the drugs were found. Arizona law states that the time spent in prison depends on whether the person in question has prior felonies. Lil Wayne got off with minor inconvenience.

The list of Lil Wayne’s arrests for weapons and drugs goes on. He is barred from owning a gun due to his prior weapons charges, yet he still has one.

Not only did police find a weapon in his possession, they also found a number of drugs and $25,000 cash on board the private jet. He will go to court next month.

Celebrities are not the only people to get away with criminal acts, but their business is the most public. Money and contacts goes a long way when trying to stay out of prison. Something that mere mortals can often only dream of. The fundamental question is will celebrities ever be treated the same as us, when they can pay off the right people and hire top lawyers? I won’t hold my breath.