How much is 85% of 10? Tory Lanez's prison sentence in Megan Thee Stallion shooting explored

On Tuesday, August 8, Grammy-nominated rapper, singer, and songwriter Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the shooting of fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, an incident that happened in July 2020.

Tory Lanez was convicted in December 2020 on three felony charges, including negligently shooting Stallion at the back of her foot, and has since then been in the Los Angeles County jail. On Tuesday, after three years, he was sentenced to a decade in prison and is expected to serve 85 percent of it.

Previously, prosecutors demanded that Lanez be sentenced to 13 years in prison, alongside being deported to his native country, Canada. In contrast, Lanez’s attorney had called for probation and a residential substance abuse program to help with the Canadian rapper’s alcoholism, which is believed to have led to his violent actions. The defense also planned to appeal for their client’s conviction.

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Tory Lanez must spend a minimum of eight and a half years in prison

On Tuesday, after several continuances, delays, postponements, and motions filed, the three-year-long saga of Tory Lanez (defendant) versus Megan Thee Stallion (plaintiff) came to an end, with the former officially been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Meghann Cuniff, a legal affairs and trails journalist who was present in the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, told Yahoo! that Judge David Herriford asked Deputy DA Kathy Ta from the prosecution’s side whether sentencing Tory Lanez to a 10-year sentence as opposed to the 13-year sentence they sought was “appropriate.”

While the Deputy DA still leaned towards an extra three years, she also stated that under California State Law, legally, if the guilty showed “good behavior,” he wouldn’t serve the full sentence.

Instead, he will be released after serving 85 percent of it. This means that Tory Lanez has the opportunity to cut his sentence short and should only spend eight and a half years in prison, which accounts for 85 percent of 10.

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Exploring Tory Lanez’s trial, in brief

Tory Lanez (full name Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson) is a 31-year-old Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. In July 2020, he and American rapper Megan Thee Stallion had a dispute at Kylie Jenner’s pool party at Hollywood Hills. However, they left together in Lanez’s car. As per the charges, before dropping her home, Lanez shot Stallion in the back of her feet with a handgun he kept in his car.

Stallion did not file any complaints against Lanez until August 2020, when she took to her Instagram Live and accused Tory Lanez of shooting her in the foot, for which she needed surgery and physical therapy. Lanez, however, denied the charge and in the next month released an album in which all the songs spoke about how he was innocent and was being framed.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles police investigated the charges, and in October 2020, Lanez was officially charged with three felony counts: first-degree assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a concealed, loaded, and unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and personal discharge of a firearm with gross negligence.

Fast forward to December 2022, he was officially found guilty during a jury trial and has since then been in prison. His case was then moved to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

On Monday, August 7, official sentencing was expected, but as per Associated Press, it was delayed till Tuesday, as both sides argued on his potential sentence. Not only that, but the defendant produced seven witnesses, including Lanez’s father Sonstar Peterson, who gave an emotional statement about his son and how his childhood trauma of losing his mother impacted his later decisions in life.

Other witnesses, including a chaplain and a jailer, also came forward and talked about Lanez’s charitable giving, trauma, and his status as the single parent of a 6-year-old son.

There was even a letter of support from Australian rapper Iggy Azalea for Lanez, which received sharp criticism online.

From the prosecution’s side, a written statement from Stallion was also read out, which stated that she did not ever wish to be in the same room as Tory Lanez.

“Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I haven’t experienced a single day of peace. Slowly but surely, I’m healing and coming back, but I will never be the same again,” the letter read.

At the end of Monday’s session, Lanez’s attorney Jose Baez told the press that the rapper maintained his not-guilty stand and that if incarcerated, it will not only be detrimental to him but also to the people he supports financially, including the non-profit organizations.

On Tuesday, before his sentence was announced, Tory Lanez took to the stand for the first time since his trial began and said how he still cared for Megan Thee Stallion and considered her a “friend.” He also mentioned how they bonded over the loss of their respective mothers. He even said that the duo used alcohol to numb their pain, as reported by The Guardian.

After his 10 years in prison sentence verdict became viral on social media, it earned mixed reactions from netizens. While some celebrated his sentence, others believed that Lanez was “railroaded by the justice system” and #FreeToryLanez began trending on Twitter.

Lanez’s attorney told Associated Press reporters outside of the courthouse that he was “extremely disappointed” with the sentence. He also added:

“I have seen vehicular homicide and other cases where there’s death and the defendant still gets less than 10 years.”

He further stated how he will continue to fight for his client and go to higher courts and appeal to shorten his sentence.

Meanwhile, as per Yahoo!, Lanez was found guilty of all three felony charges by the jury. However, the judge based the verdict mainly on two of the three charges, including the “use of a semiautomatic firearm” and Stallion’s “vulnerability as a victim.” The third, which was “callousness and great bodily harm to the plaintiff” was not admissible by the judge.