I beg your pardon: Clemency for rappers, not for Joe Exotic
Two rappers were among the entertainment figures included in a list of 140 people who were pardoned or had their sentences commuted by President Donald Trump in a last-minute clemency flurry early Wednesday. But the news was not as good for one hopeful celebrity. First the good news. Rapper Lil Wayne, real name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was given a full pardon.
The Grammy-winner was charged in Florida on Nov. 17 with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, a federal offense that carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. In the pardon, Lil Wayne was praised for his “commitment to a variety of charities, including donations to research hospitals and a host of food banks.” Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders backed the pardon.
Lil Wayne is one of the seminal figures in rap in the last two decades, selling more than 20 million albums in the U.S. since releasing his debut in 1999. Sentencing for the rapper, who frequently expressed support for Trump, was set for Jan. 28. In a statement, Carter’s attorney Howard Srebnick said a pardon was appropriate since “prosecuting a non-violent citizen for merely possessing a firearm violates the Second Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution.”
Another rapper, Kodak Black, born Bill K. Kapri, was granted a commutation.
The “Tunnel Vision” rapper is serving a three-year prison sentence for falsifying documents used to purchase weapons at a Miami gun store. Supporters included Gucci Mane, Lil Pump, Lil Yachty, and athletes Lamar Jackson and Jack Brewer.
Kodak Black has sold more than 30 million singles since 2014, and has had several multiplatinum and platinum-certified singles, including “Zeze,” “No Flockin’” and “Roll in Peace.” His lawyer, Bradford Cohen, was once a contestant on Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” show.
The pardon notes that
Joe Exotic’s team was so confident in a pardon that they’d readied a celebratory limousine and a hair and wardrobe team to whisk him away from a texas prison.
Kodak Black paid for schoolchildren’s notebooks, supplies to day care centers and food for the hungry, and donated $50,000 for restaurants in his hometown of Pompano Beach, Fla.
And now the bad news — at least for “Tiger King” Joe Exotic.
Exotic, real name Joseph Maldonado-passage, who was prominently featured in the popular Netflix documentary “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” had hoped for good news, but it was not to be. The zookeeperturned-reality-tv-star was sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in federal prison for violating federal wildlife laws and for his role in a failed murder-forhire plot. His team was so confident in a pardon that they’d readied a celebratory limousine and a hair and wardrobe team to whisk him away from a Texas prison.