Mick Jagger Claims Newspaper Editorial Helped Him Avoid Prison Time
According to legendary Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger, a newspaper editorial helped him narrowly avoid spending months in jail. And what crime did Jagger commit? Nothing more than a “minor drug offense” back in the late 1960s.
As Fox News reports, Mick Jagger told his tale of (almost) woe and redemption to the Times of London in a piece that was published on Saturday. The iconic rocker says that back in 1967, he was slated to do a three-month jail stint after being busted engaging in drug-related activity. However, according to Mick, the punishment didn’t really fit the crime.
Mick Jagger said that his sentence wasn’t meted out not because of the severity of his crime, but because of who Mick was. The rock star says that prominent band members had been specifically targeted by judges and prosecutors and were being used as “scapegoats” for the widespread drug use of the 1960s.
About that same time, an editorial was published by The Times. In it, the author paid special attention to the fact that Mick Jagger was facing a sentence that had little to do with his offense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuWjcQGzg-s
Rather, according to the editorial, Jagger had been unfairly singled out because of his career and fame, amounting to a miscarriage of justice.
The article went on to point out that Mick Jagger’s high-profile musical career shouldn’t result in an inflated jail sentence for such a minor crime, adding that Mick should be treated “exactly the same as anyone else” by the legal system.
Apparently, someone at the courthouse took the editorial to heart. Jagger says that the editorial in question not only made its point, and a valid one at that, but that it almost immediately resulted in his release. Now 73 years old (and still rocking), Mick Jagger directly credits that editorial for his unexpected early freedom.
“…that editorial got me out jail. One day it dropped, and the next thing I was out.”
The editorial by William Rees-Mogg criticising prison sentences given to Mick Jagger and Keith Richard published on Saturday 1 July, 1967. pic.twitter.com/xtXBIgArGW
— Diarmaid James Ward (@sonuvabard) July 1, 2017
What’s more, Jagger says that the editorial directly took on “the establishment” with its pointed and timely accusations of Mick Jagger’s unfair legal treatment.
“…come on guys, this is just not English fair play kind of thing.”
What do you think? Did the editorial’s apparent use as a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card do Mick Jagger any favors? Or should the iconic Rolling Stone have been used as an example? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Featured Image by Enric Marti/AP Images]
