Mutulu Shakur was granted a compassionate release after he was diagnosed with cancer.
A judge officially granted 2Pac’s stepfather Mutulu Shakur an early release after he spent 36 years behind bars. According to The Intercept, the court agreed with Mutulu Shakur’s motion for a compassionate release after a Bureau Of Prisons doctor said he had less than six months to live. That same doctor diagnosed Shakur with bone marrow cancer.
The Parole Commission previously denied Shakur a compassionate release on ten separate occasions. However, things changed in October when he applied for a compassionate release, once again. The commission acknowledged his near-flawless institutional record and no longer deemed him a risk to society. The parole board said his medical condition warranted an early release, as well.
“We now find your medical condition renders you so infirm of mind and body that you are no longer physically capable of committing any Federal, State or local crime,” said the parole commission.
The court convicted Shakur of racketeering charges over 40 years ago. Authorities claimed that he played a role in a Brinks truck robbery scheme that left three people dead, including two police officers. However, he expressed remorse for his actions, issuing an apology to the court. Unfortunately, he faced another conviction for allegedly helping Assata Shakur escape from prison.
“We are relieved that the Parole Commission now recognizes what has long been true — that Dr. Shakur’s release poses no risk whatsoever,” Mutulu Shakur’s attorney, Brad Thomson, said. “It is tragic that it took until he was on the verge of death for that truth to finally be realized.”
At this point, Shakur will live out his final days with his family and friends in Southern California.
Shakur’s faced tremendous difficulties in the past few years for a compassionate release. The court sentenced the former activist under old conviction guidelines under the oversight of the U.S. Parole Commission. The judge on the case, who convicted him in the 80s, denied Shakur an early release in 2020. However, he added that Shakur could reapply at “the point of approaching death.”
[via]
