Davis, 63, was convicted of first-degree murder in August and received his sentence Tuesday, October 13, during a hearing in a Las Vegas courtroom.
“You don’t get to take a man from his family,” Judge Carli Kierny told Davis as she announced the sentence. Reflecting on the decades it took for justice to move forward in Shakur’s killing, she added, “You don’t get to take his very life, his whole future, from him … especially when that man is Tupac Shakur.”
Prosecutors had pushed for the maximum possible sentence, arguing that Davis should face the harshest punishment for his role in the killing.
“He’s the only one who’s trying to profit off a killing that he committed, and for that he doesn’t deserve the minimum sentence,” prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo told the court. “He deserves the maximum possible sentence because he’s earned it through his actions, his behavior, and who he is as he stands here today.”
Davis’ attorney, Michael Sanft, had asked the judge to impose a 40-year prison sentence. He also confirmed that the defense intends to appeal the conviction.
Before the sentence was handed down, Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, and brother, Maurice, addressed the court, sharing the profound emotional toll their brother’s death has taken on the family.
“The loss of Tupac for a long time crippled my entire family emotionally, mentally,” Sekyiwa said, revealing that she had been hospitalized multiple times for depression, suicidal ideation and trauma.
“I miss my brother. I do. I miss his skin. I miss his scars on his head. He had a strawberry on his chest. I miss the way he ate. Miss his recipe for chicken. Miss his laugh,” she added, offering a deeply personal glimpse into the grief that has endured since the rap icon’s death.
