The key facts
- Duane 'Keffe D' Davis was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison for orchestrating the murder of Tupac Shakur on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas.
- Judge Carli Kierny recalled Davis's confessions in his memoirs and statements to authorities; Davis showed no remorse and intends to appeal the verdict.
- Shakur was wounded by gunfire from a white Cadillac and died six days later; the shooter's identity has not been officially established, and Davis is the only surviving occupant of the car.
A verdict three decades later
Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, a 63-year-old former leader of one of the Los Angeles branches of the Crips gang, was sentenced in Las Vegas on Tuesday to a minimum of 40 years in prison for orchestrating the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. According to Euronews' assessment, the sentence likely means Davis will die in custody. The decision came almost 30 years after the murder and following years of criticism of investigations that yielded no results.
Circumstances of the murder
According to court materials, Davis orchestrated the murder on September 7, 1996, after his nephew was beaten by members of Shakur's entourage at a Las Vegas casino. About two hours after the altercation, a shooter from a white Cadillac that pulled up next to the rapper's BMW opened fire at a red traffic light. Davis handed the weapon to a person in the back seat of the Cadillac and ordered the shooting. The identity of that person has not been definitively revealed; Davis is the only one of those in the Cadillac that evening who is still alive. Shakur died six days later at the age of 25. Behind the wheel of the BMW was Death Row Records co-founder Marion 'Suge' Knight, who was wounded.
The judge's words and the defendant's position
Judge Carli Kierny, delivering the sentence, reminded Davis that for three years he had in various forms told law enforcement and written in his book about his involvement in the murder, adding that he had 'come out of Compton' and was 'now a grandfather.' 'I'm here to tell you: that's not how it works,' Euronews quoted the judge as saying. She also stated: 'You cannot take a person away from his family, take away his very life and all of his future, and simply get away with it. Especially when that person is Tupac Shakur.' Before the sentence was announced, Davis expressed no remorse and stated only his intention to appeal the guilty verdict.
Remembering Shakur
The murder of Shakur, also known as 2Pac, remained one of the most famous 'cold cases' in the United States and for years fueled disputes over who committed it and why. Shakur was a key figure in the rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast hip-hop scenes. Known for hits such as 'All Eyez on Me' and 'California Love,' the son of a Black Panther activist grew up in Harlem and Baltimore but became the embodiment of California hip-hop after signing with the Los Angeles label Death Row Records. His sister Sekyiwa 'Set' Shakur gave an emotional speech on Tuesday, calling her brother a person 'born an icon.' According to her, their mother deliberately raised him as a fighter for human rights who protected the vulnerable, and that is what he was for the entire family.
