California’s state Senate passed legislation that would limit prosecutors from using rap lyrics as evidence during criminal proceedings. The practice, which is common but controversial as it brushes up against First Amendment privileges, gained public attention after the arrest of rappers Young Thug and Gunna in the state of Georgia.
The purpose of the bill is to “ensure that the use of an accused person’s creative expression will not be used to introduce stereotypes or activate bias against the defendant, nor as character or propensity evidence”.
The bill would require a judge to determine the admissibility of the lyrics to be used as evidence, and whether they are actually related to the alleged crime.
“It would also recognize that the use of rap lyrics and other creative line expression as circumstantial evidence of motive or intent is not a sufficient justification to overcome substantial evidence that the introduction of rap lyrics creates a substantial risk of unfair prejudice”, the text of the bill states.
Using rap lyrics as evidence has been criticized by fr...
English (US) ·