After serving 35 years in federal prison Mutulu Shakur has been granted compassionate release.
Shakur, who is the stepfather to the late Tupac Shakur, will be released on parole on Dec.16 and spend the rest of his days with family and friends as he is suffering from terminal cancer.
According to reports, the motion was sanctioned to have Shakur released by U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier in October, but the news broke about the release on Thursday, November 10. It was recently reported that his health began to get worse while in prison.
Mutulu Shakur was found guilty in 1984 for his involvement in the 1981 conspiracy to rob armored trucks in which two police officers and a guard were killed. Although the court sympathized with Shakur’s health conditions, he was told that the First Step Act didn’t apply to his case because it took place before 1987.
He would be sentenced to 60 years in prison for his crime. Judge Charles S. Haight wrote in a statement, “This is a difficult case. The government does not question the dire nature of Shakur’s present medical condition. Shakur also submits testimonials which describe his rehabilitation in prison and humanitarian assistance he has rendered to other inmates.”
Haight continued, “On the other hand, members of the family of the Brinks employee who was killed during the crimes of conviction have written to the Court, expressing their continuing grief and opposition to any reduction in Shakur’s sentence.”
In May, Mutulu was given six months to live and given two options for freedom, which were re-applying to the Bureau of Prisons or persuading the parole board to grant him parole and it worked.
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