Tupac murder mastermind sentenced 40 years to life

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The man behind the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison after he was convicted of first-degree murder in August, the New York Post reported.

Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis, 63, was sentenced on Tuesday, decades after Shakur’s 1996 murder in Las Vegas. Shakur’s family was in court as the prosecution gave its arguments, asking for the maximum sentence against Davis.

“He’s the only one who’s trying to profit off a killing that he committed, and for that he doesn’t deserve the minimum sentence,” prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said. “He deserves the maximum possible sentence because he’s earned it through his actions, his behaviour, and who he is as he stands here today.”

Michael Sanft, an attorney for Davis, said the defence will be appealing his conviction.

Shakur’s sister Sekiwa, and brother Maurice gave impact statements before Davis was sentenced.

“The loss of Tupac for a long time crippled my entire family emotionally, mentally,” Sekyiwa said. “I’ve been hospitalized multiple times for depression, suicidal ideation, and trauma. I miss my brother. I do. I miss his skin. I miss his scars on his head. He had a strawberry on his chest. I miss the way he ate. Miss his recipe for chicken. Miss his laugh.”

Her brother Maurice added: “The impact from my brother’s murder has been devastating, heartbreaking, and sad for me, my family, and a nation of Tupac fans and loved ones. Pac didn’t get us a chance to have any kids. Pac didn’t see his nieces and nephews grow up.”

Judge lays it down

Judge Carli Kierny then gave Davis an aggregated 40 years to life for murder and deadly weapon enhancement. Kierny told Davis he must face consequences for Shakur’s murder.

“I’m here to tell you that’s not how it works, okay?” she said. “You don’t get to take a man from his family, you don’t get to take his very life, his whole future from him, and just walk away from him.

“Especially when that man is Tupac Shakur.”

Admission in memoir

Davis reportedly told police in 2008 he orchestrated the killing when he was seeking an immunity deal, saying that he did so as revenge for Shakur and his friends beating up his nephew, Orlando Anderson, who has long been attributed as the one who pulled the trigger on the rapper. Anderson was killed in a shootout two years after Shakur’s murder.

Davis boasted about the murder for years in the media, even mentioning it in his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend, where he wrote: “Them jumping on my nephew gave us the ultimate green light to do something to their ass” while providing other details about the murder.

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