Tory Lanez has the Twitterverse buzzing after the news broke that his request for a new trial in the Megan Thee Stallion Shooting case has been denied.
The Canadian rapper was convicted on December 23, 2020, on three felony charges for shooting Megan (whose real name is Megan Pete) in the foot during an argument after a pool party in the Hollywood Hills.
Tory’s attorney argued in court that Judge David Herriford made numerous errors during the two-week trial that resulted in a guilty verdict.
They called the case a “miscarriage of justice.”
In a motion filed in March by Tory’s attorneys, Jose Baez and Matthew Barhoma, they said Judge Herriford should not have allowed jurors to see an Instagram post that appeared to undermine Tory’s central defense that Kelsey Harris, Megan’s former friend, actually pulled the trigger.
The reason why the Instagram post was a point of contention was that Tory allegedly appeared in the comments suggesting that the allegations against Kelsey were “not true.”
Tory’s lawyers wrote:
The court erred on numerous questions of law in allowing the People to introduce this post, depriving the defendant of a fair trial.
The only acceptable remedy for this miscarriage of justice is a new trial.
His attorneys made several other arguments including:
- Key DNA evidence had been mischaracterized and improperly admitted.
- Lanez had been denied his right to counsel because his longtime attorney withdrew at the eleventh hour.
- Prosecutors had run afoul of a new California law that bans the use of creative expression in criminal trials.
Prosecutors clapped back with the following responses:
- A request for a new trial was groundless.
- The Instagram comment was a “relatively insignificant piece of evidence, among an “overwhelming” amount of testimony and other evidence showing that Lanez had been the one to shoot Stallion.
- The defendant’s brief is replete with colorful rhetoric and conclusory statements, but it lacks substance.
- Despite being nearly 80 pages long, the defendant has failed to cite a single instance of error in the trial court.
We previously reported that Tory took to social media and made a public plea to Los Angeles County D.A George Gascón to “do what’s fair and right” in regards to him getting a new trial.
On May 9 (Tuesday) in Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Herriford sided with prosecutors and denied Tory Lanez’s motion for a new trial.
The denial clears the way for Tory’s sentencing, and he is potentially facing 22 years in prison.
Reportedly, sentencing is scheduled for June 13.
Tory can file an appeal of the verdict at a state appellate court, but California appeals courts overturned a defendant’s guilty verdict in only 19% of cases in 2022.
The Twitterverse had a lot to say about Tory’s retrial request being denied.
Scoop the Twitter reaction below:
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the convo on our socials. (Facebook, Instagram).
Source: Billboard
