Here's Why Tupac's Stepfather, Mutulu Shakur, Is Set To Be Freed After Decades In Prison
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Tupac Shakur’s stepfather, Mutulu Shakur, is set to be released from prison next month after serving more than 35 years. In October, U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier sanctioned a motion to release him. The decision that Shakur would be granted parole became public knowledge on Thursday.
His parole is scheduled to start on December 16. However, he will be living out his final days with family and friends. Shakur has had a history of health issues, including stage-3 multiple myeloma (a form of blood cancer that can harm the kidney and bones).
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Jomo Muhammad, an organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and worked to free Shakur, stated: “There are a lot of tears of joy. 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.”
Shakur was convicted in 1988 for serving as a leader to revolutionaries responsible for armed robberies in New York and Connecticut, one of which left three people dead. Over the years, he was denied release several times. Authorities stated the reason behind their decision was due to the severity of his crimes. They also said his health was not bad enough to warrant a release.
Shier told Shakur when he announced his October decision: “We now find your medical condition renders you so infirm of mind and body that you are no longer physically capable of committing any federal, State, or local crime.”
Shakur is currently being held at a federal medical center in Lexington, Kentucky, which provides care for incarcerated people. He has had Covid at least twice and has used IV feeding tubes since May, according to his attorney Brad Thomson. Thomson said doctors working with the Federal Bureau of Prisons gave Shakur less than six months to live back in May.
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