Prison-bound Lil Wayne may seek protective custody while in jail
01/03/2010 17:05
Popular American rapper Lil Wayne could finally start serving his one year prison term for illegal weapons possession in New York City. His lawyer Stacy Richman says she will seek protective custody for her famous client.
New York, United States - After pleading guilty last October for illegal weapons possession, Lil Wayne was due to be sentenced February 9 but was delayed until March 2 for dental medication.
His lawyer Stacy Richman said she intends to ask for protective custody for the popular rapper. "If Wayne had his druthers, he would not be asking for anything for himself," Richman said, but she said she was concerned for his health and safety.
"It's a challenge," said Martin Horn, a former head of the New York City jails, where Lil Wayne's plea agreement calls for him to serve his sentence. He might follow the path of rapper Foxy Brown, who spent about eight months in 2007 and 2008 in city jails on a probation violation after pleading guilty to assault in a fracas at a nail salon.
Because of threats against her, she was held largely in protective custody in a cell of her own, with access to a day room, said Horn. It would make him the latest in a string of rappers to go to jail after rising to fame — and the latest celebrity inmate to test law enforcement officials' ability to draw the line between providing special treatment and recognizing potential risks to high-profile convicts.
Before serving his term, Lil Wayne came back to his native New Orleans to do a concert for his hometown fans in what he calls his farewell tour. "I'm nothing without you," he told the screaming crowd last year at the New Orleans Arena after opening the concert with "A Milli," which earned him a Grammy for best rap solo in 2008.
Lil Wayne is set to follow some of rap music's biggest names — from Tupac Shakur, Lil' Kim, Beanie Sigel and Shyne to New Orleans natives Mystikal and C-Murder — who have served a few months to several years behind bars for crimes committed after they became famous.
Lil Wayne is an American rapper and former member of a rap group, the "Hot Boys'. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and has four children with four different women. The rapper will serve a prison term of one year but he could end up serving eight months with good behavior while in prison.
(original article appeared @ Digital Journal )