Imprisoned Rap Figure May Go Free

Rap executive Marion “Suge” Knight, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 1996 for a probation violation, could be a free man within weeks.

The California Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court ruling, vacated Knight’s nine-year sentence and ordered a new probation hearing for him. Legal experts say that such a move often paves the way for a defendant to obtain immediate release on bail pending the new hearing.

Knight, who built Death Row Records from scratch into the nation’s top rap label, was sent to prison nearly two years ago after a judge determined that he had violated his probation by kicking a man during a scuffle at a Las Vegas hotel.

The 32-year-old entrepreneur had been on probation since 1995, when he entered no-contest pleas to two counts of assault stemming from a 1992 attack on two aspiring rappers in a Hollywood recording studio. Under a plea bargain, a judge imposed a suspended nine-year prison term and five years probation.

On the day that Knight was sentenced, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge J. Stephen Czuleger said that under the terms of the plea bargain he had no choice but to send Knight to prison for nine years for violating his probation. Knight, who has been serving his sentence in the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, appealed the ruling.

Knight’s attorneys--Armand Arabian, a former state Supreme Court justice, and David Kenner of Encino--challenged his incarceration two months ago during oral arguments before the appellate court. They argued that Knight should be released from prison because the plea agreement he signed was invalid. They contended that Knight signed the plea bargain based on false promises by the district attorney’s office--including a pledge to reduce the case’s two felony counts to misdemeanors, which is not allowed under state law.

The appellate court, whose written Aug. 26 ruling was received by Knight’s attorneys late Friday, let the plea bargain stand, but ordered a new hearing for Knight. The three-judge panel determined that the trial court did not have to send Knight to prison for nine years but could have imposed a wide range of sentences, including probation, under the terms of the plea arrangement.

Knight’s attorneys were optimistic that the rap figure would soon be released.

“Given the amount of time that Mr. Knight has been in custody, we are all confident that the trial court will impose a new sentence that will allow for a virtually immediate release,” said Kenner.

Knight’s Death Row Records, the first black-owned and -operated rap label to consistently dominate the pop charts, burst onto the music scene in 1992 and sold 25 million albums before he was incarcerated. But as Knight’s legal problems escalated, Death Row’s record sales plummeted.

It is unclear what impact the appellate ruling and Knight’s potential early release from prison will have on a federal racketeering investigation of Knight and his company. Sources say the government is investigating Knight and others associated with Death Row Records for alleged tax violations and purported links to street gangs, drug trafficking, money laundering and violent acts.

Knight has repeatedly denied that his company had any connection to criminal activities.