Mutulu Shakur Granted Compassionate Release

Tupac Shakur’s Stepfather, Mutulu Shakur Granted Compassionate Release After Serving More Than 35 Years in Federal Prison

Tupac Shakur’s stepfather has been granted parole after being imprisoned for more than 35 years.

According to NBC News, Mutulu Shakur, stepfather to one of hip-hop’s most popular deceased recording artists, Tupac will be walking out of jail next month on Dec. 16. He has been granted compassionate release after advocates have been fighting for years for him to be released due to being diagnosed with stage-3 multiple myeloma (a blood cancer that can do damage to the bones and kidneys). The disease is incurable and he is expected to die from it.

The 72-year-old activist and holistic healthcare advocate will spend his remaining days with family and friends.

NBC News obtained papers stating that the U.S. Parole Commission in October recently granted a request to release Shakur and the decision to grant the 72-year-old parole was made public last week on Thursday.

He is currently being held at a federal medical center in Lexington, Kentucky. The facility is a prison for inmates who require medical care.

Shakur’s attorney, Brad Thomson has gone on record stating that the prisoner has lost massive weight loss because of the effect of the treatments for his medical conditions. He reportedly suffered from COVID-19 two times and has had to be dependent on IV feeding tubes on and off since May. Earlier this year, Thomson said that doctors with the Federal Bureau of Prisons had given Shakur less than six months to live. They noted that treatment for his cancer no longer worked.

“There are a lot of tears of joy,” an organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Jomo Muhammad said after the parole was granted. He has been working to gain Shakur’s freedom for some time. “There’s still disbelief because we were steadying ourselves for another denial. Now folks are excited about being able to reunite Mutulu with his family. We were crying together. It’s a long time overdue.”

The Associated Press reported that Shakur was denied parole in 2016. He was accused and convicted of leading a revolutionary group that was responsible for the killings of two New York City police officers and an armed guard. He was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison after being charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act), bank robbery, armed bank robbery, and bank robbery-murder. Shakur was also convicted of assisting Assata Shakur, with her escape from a New Jersey prison in 1979.

Tupac Shakur’s Stepfather, Mutulu Shakur Granted Compassionate Release After Serving More Than 35 Years in Federal Prison