Tory Lanez was reportedly sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday (August 8). According to a tweet from legal affairs journalist Meghann Cunniff, the embattled rapper will spend the next decade behind bars, although he’ll likely only have to serve 85 percent of his sentence under California law.
Just in: Tory Lanez has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) August 8, 2023
Tory Lanez was found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in December 2022, and he’s been locked up at Los Angeles County Jail ever since. Lanez’s attorneys were originally seeking probation and drug rehab for the Canadian artist. Earlier this month, his legal team issued a memo to the court pleading with the judge for a light sentence—instead of the 13 years prison time requested by prosecutors. In the lengthy memo, lawyers argue Lanez—real name Daystar Peterson—should be given treatment rather than a lengthy sentence due to his “childhood trauma” and substance abuse issues.
“Assuming the allegations are true, Mr. Peterson’s psychological, physical, and childhood trauma was a factor in the commission of the offense,” the filing stated. “Likewise, the current offense is connected to Mr. Peterson’s childhood trauma and mental illness, alcohol-use disorder. Mr. Peterson’s alcohol-use disorder, although not amounting to a defense, reduced his culpability.”
Tory Lanez’s attorneys also cited the ” devastating impact” imprisonment will have on Lanez and his six-year-old son, Kai. Finally, they claimed evidence of Lanez’s guilt “is questionable at best and by no means overwhelming.” While Judge Herriford said he wouldn’t consider a “lack of remorse” as a major aggravating factor in his sentence, he considered Lanez’s actions after the shooting—including the social media posts and harassment of Megan Thee Stallion —when handing down the sentence.