Sean Combs, Prosecutors Fight Over Mogul’s Bid for Freedom at Appeal Hearing

By Cheyenne Roundtree

Cheyenne Roundtree

Sean Combs’ attorneys have pushed an appeals court to expedite its decision on whether the Bad Boy founder was improperly sentenced following his criminal trial, in hopes of securing his release from prison. 

The 56-year-old is currently serving a 50-month sentence at Fort Dix, a low-security federal facility in New Jersey, after he was convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs’ scheduled release date is April 15, 2028, according to the Bureau of Prisons. 

The conviction stems from Combs’ eight-week trial last summer where he was accused of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking his girlfriends Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a woman identified as Jane. Although a New York jury rejected those charges, they did find Combs guilty of causing male escorts to travel across state lines to have sex with the women in sexual encounters known as “freak-offs.” 

Following Combs’ sentencing in October, his attorneys appealed U.S. District Court judge Arun Subramanian’s decision, arguing, in part, that he had improperly taken into consideration acquitted conduct of fraud and coercion when making his sentencing determination.

Combs was not present during the two-hour hearing Thursday, in which his attorney Alexandra Shapiro presented his case to three federal appellate judges who serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. “This case presents an important issue about respect for jury verdicts and public confidence in our criminal justice system,” said Shapiro, who also was part of Combs’ defense team during the trial. “Multiple justices have questioned the constitutionality of acquitted conduct sentencing.” 

The judges did not indicate when a decision would be returned and gave no indication on which way they were leaning, grilling Shapiro and Assistant United States Attorney Christy Slavik about their respective arguments to the court.  

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