Duane “Keffe D” Davis has maintained his innocence in his first interview since being convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur.
Speaking days after a Las Vegas jury found him guilty, Davis said he was not responsible for Shakur’s death and accused police officers, prosecutors and other witnesses of lying about him during the trial.
“I’m innocent, man. They got an innocent man sitting in jail,” Davis said in the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, according to Rolling Stone.
Davis, 63, was convicted on August 31 of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon. Jurors deliberated for nearly three hours following an 11-day trial. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 13 and faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors did not accuse Davis of firing the shots that killed Shakur. Instead, they argued that he orchestrated the attack, obtained the gun and helped his group carry out the shooting in retaliation for an altercation involving Shakur and Davis’ nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, at the MGM Grand earlier that night. Under Nevada law, a person who helps facilitate a murder can also be held criminally responsible.
A major part of the prosecution’s case centred on Davis’ own previous accounts of the killing, including interviews, conversations with investigators and his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.
However, Davis has now distanced himself from the memoir, saying he did not write or review the book. He also addressed an interview shown during the trial, claiming he participated because he was trying to make money and believed statements he had previously made to authorities were protected.
During the trial, his defence argued that Davis had exaggerated or fabricated stories about his involvement for money and notoriety. His lawyer, Michael Sanft, also argued that prosecutors lacked physical or documentary evidence placing Davis inside the Cadillac from which the shots were fired.
Davis did not testify in his own defence. In his latest interview, he said his lawyer advised him against taking the stand because doing so could affect a future appeal.
Sanft has since confirmed that the defence intends to appeal the conviction, raising concerns about evidence admitted at trial and arguing that jurors did not spend enough time reviewing the case before reaching their verdict.
Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, while riding in a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight near the Las Vegas Strip. The rapper died six days later, on September 13, at the age of 25.
Davis remains in custody ahead of his October sentencing.
Source: Khaleej Times
