An appeal hearing for Tory Lanez has finally been scheduled. After a wave of negative press against the rapper's lawyer, a formal appeal against his 10-year prison sentence has been set for September 5. Furthermore, the hearing will also determine whether Lanez will be freed on bail pending his appeal. Lanez was recently handed down a decade-long prison sentence after being found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020. The sentence was given despite a wave of letters supporting the Canadian musician. These letters came from the likes of Iggy Azalea, Mario, Stefflon Don, and Melli. Additionally, statements supporting the freeing of Lanez were made by the likes of Adin Ross and Capella Grey.
As mentioned, the appeal healing comes after a rough couple of weeks for Lanez's lawyer. Jose Baez said he would be filing an appeal almost immediately after Lanez was sentenced. However, after two weeks, no appeal had emerged and Baez was seemingly vacationing in Italy. This led a lot of people to accuse the attorney of failing his client and not doing his job. Baez hit back at the reports, saying that he travels to Italy several times a year due to obligations to other clients. Furthermore, Baez said that the appeals process was being held up as they were waiting for official transcripts to be completed.
Will Tory Lanez Be Freed?
It's hard to say definitively if Lanez will a) be granted an appeal and b) he will receive bail while that appeal is heard. Especially, in the case of the latter, it will all depend on how the court views Lanez. While many people wrote letters of support for him, many of them boiled down to "Tory is just a really great guy and I don't think he should be in prison". The court will also have to consider things such as Megan Thee Stallion's official victim impact statement, which was read at his sentencing.
“I have been tormented and terrorized in every degree by the defendant,” she wrote. “He not only shot me, he made a mockery of my trauma. He tried to position himself as a victim and set out to destroy my character and my soul." Furthermore, MTS said that she had not experienced a "single day of peace" since the shooting. It's very powerful testimony and one that could definitely sway the judge. In particular, Lanez could be denied bail if it is deemed that he would be a danger to MTS or others if released pending his appeal. However, we won't know for sure until September 5. This is a developing story and be sure to follow every update here at HotNewHipHop.
[via]