Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been sentenced to 40 years to life after being found guilty of orchestrating the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur.
Davis appeared in a Nevada court on Tuesday for his sentencing in the case, with the judge handing him 20 years to life for first-degree murder and 20 years to life for a deadly weapon enhancement. Davis, 63, was facing a maximum of life in prison without parole.
Prior to the judge’s decision, the prosecution pointed out a history of criminal activity and suggested that Davis “earned” the maximum sentence. “He’s an eight-time felon sitting before you on this crime perpetrated upon these family members, these family members, brothers,” said the prosecutor. “And you have to ask yourself for this crime, for this person, what sentence does he deserve? Whatever your decision is, ultimately, in my mind, 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’ defense attorney Michael Sanft claimed that they would appeal the judge’s decision, while Davis addressed the judge and said that he merely “wants [his] stuff back” that was taken from his home. Shakur’s sibling Sekyiwa choked back tears as she recalled her relationship with the late rapper and shared her own struggles with PTSD and trauma. “[Tupac] is truly my shining star, my shining prince, he is who God trusted to take care of me. My mother had two children and God gave him to me and he’s supposed to be my life partner,” she said. “I spent 30 years without my protection. I believe that if any life mattered, if all life matters, for sure this man’s life mattered.”
Shakur’s other sibling, Maurice, also spoke before sentencing and expressed his desire to see the maximum sentence given. “The impact from my brother’s murder has been devastating, heartbreaking and sad. For me, my family and the nation of Pac fans and loved ones. Pac didn’t get a chance to have any kids, Pac didn’t see his nieces and nephews grow up and Pac didn’t have a trial. All Pac got was a death sentence. So the longest possible, Your Honor.”
In late August, Davis was found guilty of murder with the use of a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. Davis was convicted after a weeks-long trial in Las Vegas, with prosecutors and police claiming that he orchestrated Shakur’s murder in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996. They alleged that he handed the murder weapon to the gunman, believed to be either Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, or another man in the backseat of a car.
Prosecutor Binu Palal described the case as being “drenched in circumstantial evidence” during closing arguments, and pointed to Davis’ own statements over the years to media and in his own memoir as evidence that he played party to the murder. “For nearly 18 years, Duane Davis has told the police, television, books, YouTube interviewers — anybody that will listen, he has told — he is responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur.”
Sanft countered the argument by claiming that the only evidence of Davis’ involvement was his own self-incriminating statements, which did not constitute fact. “We have to ask ourselves the question really at this particular point: Why are we here 30 years later if Duane Davis had actually confessed — truly confessed?” he said.
Shakur was murdered in 1996 after stopping at a red light in Paradise, Nevada. He was shot four times and succumbed to his injuries six days later.
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