Tory Lanez Sentenced To 10 Years In The Shooting Trial Of Megan Thee Stallion
After months of detainment following his December 2022 guilty verdict, Tory Lanez, born Daystar Peterson, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in the shooting trial of Megan Thee Stallion.
Judge David Herriford handed down the sentence in a Los Angeles courtroom Aug. 8. Prosecutors were initially seeking 13 years for the Playboy artist due to “a lack of remorse for his actions” and perceived attempts to “humiliate and re-traumatize the victim through his actions and his words,” BBC reports.
Lanez‘s lawyers filed a motion just days before the sentencing to get the rapper registered into therapy and probation instead of serving prison time, arguing that his alcoholism and other severe mental traumas reduced his “culpability.”
“Assuming the allegations are true, Mr. Peterson’s psychological, physical, and childhood trauma was a factor in the commission of the offense. 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.”
Before officially being sentenced, Judge Herriford was sent over 70 letters of support for Lanez, including one from Australian artist Iggy Azalea and another handwritten note from his six-year-old son, according to freelance court reporter Meghann Cuniff.
Alright we are on the 90-minute break. Judge Herriford got 70+ letters of support for Tory Lanez, including one from @IggyAzalea. He briefly summarized each one. Two jailers wrote letters, one spoke in court. Lanez' father, Sonstar Peterson, was the last speaker before the break.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) August 7, 2023
Azalea reportedly asked the judge to give Lanez a sentence “that is transformational, not life destroying” while the jail Chaplin praised Tory for beginning a morning prayer session he claims “has lessened the tensions between inmates.”
Cuniff also revealed that Tory Lanez’s father, Sonstar Peterson, gave a tearful address to the court, apologizing for his outburst upon hearing his son was found guilty.
Lanez was convicted in December 2022 of three charges, including assault with a semi-automatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
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