On September 20, 1995, Tupac performs an acappella of ”Can U Get Away” off the ”Me Against The World” album at Clinton Correctional Facility.
Tupac
The
rap star Tupac Shakur was sentenced to 1 1/2 to 4 1/2 years
in prison for sexually abusing a fan, and he tearfully apologized to his
victim. But even as he apologized, he said that he had committed no
crime.
Looking
fully recovered from gunshot wounds suffered in a mugging the week he
was on trial, the 23-year-old performer used his pre-sentencing address
to ruminate that his success as a rapper and film actor had perhaps
caused him to lose "focus." The rap performer, famous for his lyrics
that often deal with violence and sex, then said he was leaving his fate
to God.
"I've
been shot five times and He's brought me this far," Mr. Shakur said. "I
put my faith in God. Once again, I have no shame. What happens, happens
for a reason. I leave this in the hands of God."
Mr.
Shakur and his road manager, Charles Fuller, 24, were convicted Dec. 1
of first-degree sexual abuse, but they were acquitted of weapons and
sodomy charges. Mr. Shakur must serve 18 months on the sex-abuse charge
before he is eligible for parole.
He
has been arrested six times since 1993, in incidents ranging from
assault to a gunfight, in which the charges were eventually dropped.
The two men had acknowledged in the trial that they had oral sex with the woman but insisted it was consensual.
Mr.
Shakur's statement followed an emotional one by the victim in the case,
a 21-year-old Brooklyn woman, whom Mr. Shakur was found guilty of
groping in his room at the Parker Meridien Hotel on Nov. 18, 1993, when
she was 19.
"I
was star struck and in awe of this man, Tupac Shakur," the woman said
in a firm, steady voice, in explaining why she had gone to the hotel.
"He took advantage of his stardom to abuse me and betray my trust."
The
case grew out of an encounter between the woman and Mr. Shakur and
three other men, including Mr. Fuller, in a hotel room on the 38th floor
of the Parker Meridien.
The
woman testified that she had had consensual oral sex with Mr. Shakur at
a nightclub four days earlier. But in the hotel room, she said, Mr.
Shakur wanted to share her with his friends, who forced themselves on
her. The defense said that she had made the accusations out of jealousy
when she saw Mr. Shakur with another woman.
In
her statement in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, the woman said that
Mr. Shakur and the three friends "set upon me like animals." Since then
she said she has received threatening phone calls, lives in constant
fear, has suffered nightmares and, while Mr. Shakur "has been glorified
by his peers and fans," she has been viewed as a villain.
Calling
for a stiff sentence, she concluded, "He should not be allowed to use
his so-called celebrity status to avoid the consequences of his
actions."
As
he entered and left the courtroom, Mr. Shakur smiled cheerfully at 35
or so supporters, among them several young women who wept on hearing the
sentence. At one point, during a recess, one of the women leaned over
the rail and kissed him on the cheek before a court officer ordered her
back to her seat.
As
the victim addressed the court, Mr. Shakur stared intensely at her.
Then he got up and apologized to her. But he went on to say: "I'm not
apologizing for a crime." He added, "I hope in time you'll come forth
and tell the truth."
It
was not clear what he was apologizing for. Later he apologized again,
saying, "I got so involved in my career that I didn't see this coming,
that I wasn't more focused." He also apologized to "the youth of
America," but he did not elaborate.
"I have no shame," he said. "I don't feel shame."
But
Justice Daniel P. Fitzgerald said, "This was an act of brutal violence
against a helpless woman." He said that Mr. Shakur had been the
"instigator" of an "arrogant abuse of the victim" which culminated an
escalating display of arrogance as he pursued his career.
Addressing
the judge before sentencing, Mr. Shakur said: "I mean this with no
disrespect, Judge -- you never paid attention to me. You never looked in
my eyes." He added: "You never used the wisdom of Solomon. I always
felt you had something against me."
Justice Fitzgerald did not respond to the rap star's complaint.
He could have given Mr. Shakur probation or imposed a maximum sentence of 2 1/3 to 7 years.
Acknowledging
that Mr. Fuller had no criminal record, Justice Fitzgerald gave him
four months in jail and five years' probation. Mr. Fuller, Mr. Shakur's
road manager, had set up the date between the woman and Mr. Shakur and
then had stood aside during the sexual assault, the judge said, thereby
playing a "substantial role."
Michael Warren, Mr. Shakur's lawyer, and Robert Ellis, Mr. Fuller's, said they would appeal.
The
assistant district attorney, Melissa Mourges, in seeking the maximum
penalty, said that Mr. Shakur had been arrested in other cities on gun
possession charges.
"He
is only 23 years old," she said, "but he has a history of violence and
an inability to control his temper." She said his rap lyrics glorified
shooting police officers as well as rival gang members.
But
Mr. Warren said the prosecutor's depiction was an unfair one. He said a
more accurate one would show the rapper as a generous person who speaks
to students about trying to get ahead in life.
