A U.S. court has sentenced 63-year-old Duane Davis to life in prison after finding him guilty of orchestrating the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. The convicted man will be eligible for parole no sooner than 40 years from now, CNN reports.
The sentence was handed down on October 13 by Judge Carli Kearney. When considering future release, the court will take into account the 731 days Davis has already spent in custody; however, parole eligibility does not guarantee his actual release.
According to the prosecution, Davis orchestrated the 1996 attack on the rapper following a conflict between the musician’s entourage and Davis’s nephew, Orlando Anderson. Davis—whom investigators linked to the Southside Compton Crips gang—was not accused of personally shooting Shakur.
The musician sustained gunshot wounds while in a car with producer Marion Knight and died six days later at the age of 25.
The murder investigation spanned nearly three decades. Davis’s own accounts of his involvement in the crime—shared in interviews, documentaries, and podcasts—played a significant role in the case. In 2019, he also published a memoir presenting his version of events. Davis is the only person to have been charged with the rapper’s murder.
About the Author
