The New York Times following the verdict. “This conviction makes clear my office will hold people who commit violent crime accountable to the full extent of the law.”Prosecutors said in court Glover was walking to his job just before midnight on August 1, 2017, when Jolly asked him “What’s up?” which they say the former rapper interpreted as a sexual advance.
The pair exchanged words, and Glover pulled out a knife and stabbed Jolly in the torso before running away.“The defendant confessed to pulling out a kitchen knife and repeatedly thrusting it into the body of a stranger on the street, killing him,” Assistant District Attorney Mark Dahl argued in court last month. “Was there anything that would prevent him from simply running away from Mr.
Jolly? No.”Glover’s lawyer disputed the prosecution’s interpretation of the evening’s events, instead claiming Glover had been the victim of a previous robbery, feared for his life, and acted in self-defense.“Ladies and gentlemen, this is New York City.
It’s 12 o’clock at night. Who’s saying ‘What’s up?’ to you with good intentions?” Celestin asked jurors. “His fear for his life was reasonable.”Celestin also claimed Jolly’s death was the result of a sedative given to him at the hospital and not because her client stabbed him in the chest.Glover was previously a member of the hip-hop collective Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, best known for the 1982 hit “The Message.” In 2007 they became the first rap group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.