Two American politicians recently joined the chorus of people calling for the release of convicted Canadian singer and rapper Tory Lanez.
Per XXL, former New Jersey Assemblyman Jamel Holley and White House appointee Jack Brewer issued separate statements calling on California Governor Gavin Newsom to grant Lanez, 32, a pardon.
“I humbly implore you to exercise your authority…to grant clemency, correcting a grave injustice and safeguarding a life,” Holley wrote in his July 3 petition to Newsom. “Mr. Peterson’s conviction rests on unstable foundations.”
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Brewer similarly took to X to express his support for The Color Violet singer. “As an advocate for 2nd Chance Fathers, I can’t stay silent about Tory Lanez,” he shared. “This is another broken case that points to someone else, another father is lost to a system that rewards headlines over truth. Fatherlessness is destroying our nation. If Tory was an illegal alien there would be protests in the streets. It’s not right.”
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Lanez, born Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson, allegedly shot female rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the feet during an argument after they left a pool party hosted at reality star Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood mansion in July 2020. Megan, whose real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, had to undergo surgery to remove bullet fragments from her foot following the shooting.
READ ALSO: Tory Lanez’s father says his son will be released ‘much sooner than later’
In December 2022, Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was found guilty on three gun-related charges in the shooting. He was convicted of three felonies: assault with a semi-automatic firearm; having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle; and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Lanez has, however, maintained his innocence, and his legal team is still pushing for his release from prison and trying to get Gov. Newsom to grant him a pardon. His legal team also claims it has discovered new and unsubstantiated evidence. Lanez’s legal team added more pressure to their campaign to get him released after he was stabbed by a fellow inmate in May.
The statements from Holley and Brewer also came after California Rep. Anna Paulina Luna similarly called on Gov. Newsom to look into Lanez’ case and grant him a pardon. But in a statement to XXL, Megan’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, disagreed with the politicians calling for Lanez’s release and called them attention seekers. Spiro also reiterated that Lanez was guilty of the crime.
“The Tory Lanez case is a case of a violent crime with an unlicensed firearm of a defenseless woman who was shot multiple times,” Spiro said in the statement. “The gun was found cocked, hot and at the feet of the defendant. Witnesses immediately confirmed the defendant was the shooter. The defendant apologized for what he did. These politicians should have reviewed the evidence and thought about the crime’s survivor. But they didn’t. They decided it was more important to chase attention for themselves.”
READ ALSO: Tory Lanez’s prison attacker Santino Casio explains why he stabbed him
