Posted on 10/08/2004 3:43:18 PM PDT by freepatriot32
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Gangster rapper Beanie Sigel was sentenced to a year in federal prison Friday on a gun-possession charge stemming from a traffic stop.
Sigel, 30, could have received more than three years, but the judge cited the rapper's charity work and drug abuse treatment in taking leniency.
"It is clear that the defendant has made a substantial effort to change his life," said U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick.
Prosecutors had argued that Sigel was much like the man he presents himself as in his gritty lyrics: a ruthless, dangerous gangster
The charges stemmed from a 2002 incident in which Sigel jumped from his car and ran after a traffic stop. But the heavyset rapper did not get far, and allegedly tossed a loaded gun during the short chase. Officers also found prescription drugs and marijuana in Sigel's Cadillac Escalade.
Sigel's rap sheet dates to when he was a teenager and makes it illegal for him to own a handgun.
Pleading for leniency before a courtroom of supporters that included the rap superstar Jay-Z, Sigel acknowledged that he was in a "reckless situation, a dangerous situation" at the time of the incident, but told the judge he was a changed man.
"I'm not the guy that people think I am," he said. Motioning to his children, he said, "I want them to be able to lift their heads up and say, 'That's my dad. That's Dwight Grant. Not Beanie Sigel."
Family members and business colleagues told the judge that the rapper has a "positive message" and is a good role model for kids.
That suggestion irritated prosecutor Curtis Douglas, who quoted lyrics from a song on Sigel's soon-to-be released album, in which the rapper fantasizes about taking vengeance against his enemies by pouring acid on their children and raping their pregnant girlfriends.
"The very idea that this defendant is here as a role model is somewhat repulsive," Douglas said.
The rapper, whose birth name is Dwight Grant, also faces trial in January on charges that he shot and seriously wounded a man outside a Philadelphia bar, and also faces charges that he punched a man in the face.
Sigel was a protege of Jay-Z, and his records have sold more than 1 million copies. In a sequel to his 2002 movie "State Property," Sigel plays an imprisoned drug dealer.
He pleaded guilty to the gun charge earlier this year. Sigel also must serve two years probation and pay a $25,000 fine.
Oh No! not Beanie Siegel! Oh whoa is me! /sarc
Buh Bye Beanie
It's always "obvious" to a judge who doesnt know either party...has spent little time with them but the judge 'knows' that "it is clear the defendent has made a "substantial" effort to change his life" ...hence the weapon charge?...assault and battery...attempted murder....
Yep a "real role model" alright no doubt about it...
Judges without a clue...Lord please save us from them.....
As a paralegal for 20 years, I know for a fact that everyone is innocent in court and a good role model for kids. Too bad they can't say that for the 99.9% of their life they aren't in court.
Rappers should receive an automatic 20.
"It is clear that the defendant has made a substantial effort to change his life," said U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick.
But they'll let a Democrat DA go through Rush Limbaugh's private medical records without specific charges, or expectations, specified.
Sounds like a good role model, all right. Too bad Saddam's secret police are out of business, or he could write their agency a new anthem. Maybe he could give Kim Jong Il a call and come up with a catchy theme for his prison camps.
Or he could just write songs that glamorize brutality and violence for impressionable young people in America.
Either way, I'm sure he'll make a great role model.
i find it hard to convict someone on a hand gun possession charge...
they have a right to carry... no matter.
convict him on whatever dispicable act or behavior that causes real harm, not protecting oneself with a firearm...
if one is truly an advicate of the right to keep and bear arms, one must disagree with this conviction on the grounds of possession.
teeman
flame away, but i know i am right on this and flamers take the risk of being hypocritical.
i agree wiht you and have said that on numerous posts on free republic in the past and have always gotton flamed from hypocrite conservites that only think the 2cd applys to certain americans(with a R next to thier name preferably) and not others
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.