Diddy’s prosecution unjust, says lawyers, as he heads for appeal
The world of entertainment wads thrown into shock and panic as yet another music icon has been slapped with 50-months imprisonment.
It is not a proper description of an industry which has seen many of his stars and legends facing jail term due to sexual and drug offences as the entertainment industry has seen in recent years.
Some months ago, last year, the world witnessed one of the most heartbreaking verdicts of the decade following the sentencing of popular and legendary R ‘n’ B king, Robert Silvester Kelly, to thirty-five years in prison.
Also, the industry is still being faced with trials of other music icons, including Fat Joe. As the case of P. Diddy as widely known, it is decided and set to serve more than four years in prison following months of investigations, testifying which led to the eventual conviction of the Hip Hop icon and music mogul, San “Diddy” Combs, his attorney has stated that his sentencing is unjust.
Coms was even sentenced to 50 months in prison is not ready to lose his freedom as he is all set to appeal his conviction.
Some reactions and comments from Combs’ fans all around the world supporting the rap legend’s conviction, while others stating that he is too good to sleep in the four walls of the prison.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team has filed a lengthy appeal brief, stating that the former Bad Boy Records icon’s sentencing and conviction on prostitution-related charges were not just and seeking his release or acquittal.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is 56 years old, was found culpable of two counts of prostitution-related charges, which handed him 50 months imprisonment after a hearing and trial of eight weeks in New York earlier this year.
Combs─who is now serving out his sentence at a low-security New Jersey prison─was acquitted of more lengthy-period-imprisonment-laden sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy offences and charges.
Testimonies were heard from Comb’s former girlfriends and ex-business associates, who in details, narrated various sexual abuses experienced in the hands of the music icon.
Various witnesses also described Combs’ drug-induced sex marathons, popularly known as “freak offs’ or “hotel nights.”
Prosecutors for Diddy have reiterated that the several encounters orchestrated by the rap icon described in the case were consensual and assented to by the other party before being staged.
Presently, Combs’ attorneys argue that the court acted “unjustly” and solely relied on “acquittal conduct” while sentencing their client, and there is need to appeal in order that Diddy might regain his freedom.
His legal counsels also accused prosecuting judge, Arun Subramaniam, of acting as a “thirteenth juror” when administering the judgment to send Combs to more than four years in prison.
“He sits in prison today, serving a 50-month sentence, because the district judge acted as a thirteenth juror. The judge defied the jury’s verdict and found Combs ‘coerced,’ ‘exploited,’ and ‘forced’ his girlfriends to have sex and led a criminal conspiracy,” an 84-page document filed Tuesday by his lawyers reads.
The legal teams also put forward that Coombs was charged with “two lesser counts─prostitution offences which had nothing to do with coercion, fraud or force.”
“Defendants typically get sentenced to less than 15 months for these offenses—even when coercion, which the jury didn’t find here, is involved,” the filing reads.
Judge Arun Subramanian cited the alleged abuse described, during the hearing, by the witness before he could sentence Combs to more than four years in prison.
“A history of good works can’t wash away the record in this case. You abused these women. You used that abuse to get your way, freak-offs and hotel nights,” Subramanian said during the October sentencing hearing.
“The evidence of the abuse is massive. The drugs may have exacerbated your erratic and violent behavior over the years.
However, the court has to consider all of your history here,” he added.
In the filing made on Tuesday, Combs’ legal team stated that his conviction should be reversed and he be acquitted because he did not take part or indulge in prostitution.
“Properly construed, paying for a voyeuristic experience—which is what Combs was convicted of doing—is not engaging in is what Combs was convicted of doing is not engaging in ‘prostitution,’” his lawyers wrote.
They also claim that Combs’ “freak offs and hotel nights” were guarded, covered and protected by the First Amendment.
“Second, freak-offs and hotel nights were highly choreographed sexual performances involving the use of costumes, role play, and staged lighting, which were filmed so Combs and his girlfriends could watch this amateur pornography later,” hislawyers wrote.
“Pornography production and viewing of this sort is protected by the First Amendment and thus cannot constitutionally be prosecuted,” they added.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has refused to make a comment on the appeal filing as the whole world and reporters are waiting on the justice department for comments.
As the case lingers and dragged back and forth, there are elements of optimism that Sean “Diddy” Combs might be freed only in a matter of days or months of the appeal is properly filed and presented in the court.
Having done all this and served the requirements in the appeal, it remains to be seen if Combs will be acquitted before the end of his jail term as his legal team are really pushing so hard to have him released from prison