Photo: Getty Images (2)
After being sentenced to 10 years following a guilty conviction for shooting Grammy-winning starMegan Thee Stallionin the feet in July of 2020,Tory Laneztold fans in anInstagram post last Thursday that he “always will” maintain his innocence.
“I refuse to apologize for something that I did not do," wrote the Canadian rapper, 31.
But on Aug. 9,after his two-day hearing, Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, spoke for several minutes before Judge David Herriford handed down his decision, asking for leniency and for a sentence that would allow him to “prove” himself.
“I want to say that everything that I did wrong that night I take full responsibility for,” said Lanez to Judge Herriford in the courtroom. “I take full culpability for. And I am mature enough to say where I was wrong. If I could go into it, I would, but I know that this is not the place for that. But I do take responsibility for my wrongs. "
The rapper was given about 10 months of credit for time he’s servedsince his conviction in December,The Associated Pressreported.
Below is the full transcript (edited for clarity) that PEOPLE exclusively obtained from Lanez’s sentencing in court:
This is fairly new to me and despite my youth and the troubles that I’ve gone through as a youth, I made a decision and a promise to myself at a very young age to never land myself in the situation and the place that I’m standing right now where I’m awaiting a sentence that could potentially ruin my life or change my life for a very long time or for whatever time that is imposed. Better yet, my name is Daystar Peterson, as you know, your honor. What my name means is a biblical reference and what it means is a revolutionary light progression to my generation. And I was born to two very radical Christians. Rest in peace to my mother.
But I was born to two very radical Christians who were missionary preachers and their main goal was to preach a purpose in me at all times. And my purpose that I grew up believing was mine — is to be a light to people in dark places. To be a positive hand in helping people when they’re not helped. To be some sort of fixer and healer to those who feel broken. And for 30 years of my life — I’m 31 now. Last year, kind of more so being incarcerated. But in 30 years of my life, I have done my best to put my foot forward to do that — to be a light to people — to help people. And as a celebrity, there’s been times when I’ve made mistakes. There’s been times when I’ve, you know, made the wrong decisions. There’s been times when I’ve had moments that were under a lot [of] scrutiny, like this one right now.
Through all of those moments as a celebrity, there’s times when the media can make things bigger than it is. They can change the story. They can do whatever it is that they do. And sometimes whatever they run with is what they’re gonna run with. But, your honor, I’m not standing in front of you today as a celebrity. I’m standing before you as a regular person that genuinely just wants a chance. I am standing in front of you as a father to a child, who is 6 years old, who is my world and needs me in his life every step of the way. I’m standing in front of you as a child to a father who thinks the same about me. I’m standing in front of you as a fiancé to the mother of my child. And, ultimately, I’m standing in front [of] you as a person who just genuinely wants to be better himself in any positive and possible way that I can and that’s available to me.
If it is possible, in any sort of way for you to exercise your hand, your honor, in any discretion to give me some sort of alternative sentence to everybody else in this room and to myself that I can be a betterment to my community. That I can use my platform and my influence to change things, as I’ve been, but at a better level. I want to be able to take the time to show the world that what they’re seeing right now is not me.
And again, I’m here and I’m asking for redemption. And I’m asking for another chance. When I got to men’s central jail in December, I — and again, I’ve never been in jail ever in my life — when I got to men’s central jail, I learned a lot of things there. And basically being there, one thing that I did learn about myself when I started doing prayer calls and stuff like that for the other inmates, I noticed that a lot of inmates needed positive reinforcement in their lives in some sort of way. And even though these guys were the roughest and toughest guys that you’ll see as gangbangers or whatever they come from, I noticed that my voice was making a change and was making a difference inside of the module that I’m in.
Now, I understand how serious my charges are. I understand how serious the conviction is. And I don’t take it lightly. I don’t take your word lightly. In fact, I respect the court’s authority. I respect your ruling, whatever it’s gonna be, because at the end of the day, that’s the bottom line. But I think that there’s been this common misconception about me being this monster and not having any sort of remorse or any sort of — I don’t even know what the word is — but not having some sort of sympathy in the situation that I’ve been in. And it’s just not true.
For a very long time I was placed on, as you know, a protective order where I wasn’t allowed to say anything to the victim. And the one time that I did say something to the victim, it was taken as something a little bit out of context of what I meant that specific message for. And I was chastised about that. And I was told not to say anything to the victim. So, just being there first, I wasn’t in a position to be able to publicly ever say anything to the victim or about my case. But I do want to say this: That night was a night that everybody was drunk. Some things happened. I said some very immature things that I shouldn’t have said. I revealed some secrets that I shouldn’t have revealed to both the people in the car. And I was wrong.
If I could turn back the series of events that night and change them, as unfortunate as they were, I would, but I can’t. And I apologize. I’m sorry that I did that. Sorry that I had those moments. And, again, if I could, I would. I would change them. But I can’t. But to think that I’m this callous individual that is some sort of victimizer or some sort of womanizer is just not true because the victim was my friend. The victim was somebody that I still care for dearly to this day regardless of what she may think about me after the media has made this spectacle that it’s been.
Regardless of the fact, the victim’s my friend. She’s somebody that I sat there — and not to even touch on the subject — but we both lost our mothers. And we would sit there and drink and drink till it felt numb. That was what me and the victim had. We were friends that connected on various levels of deeper subjects than what has met the eye.
So, I just want to first and foremost say that everything that I took part in — and my lawyers, you know, asked me not to go into certain details of certain things and I’ll respect that being that there’s a time and a place. And I missed my time to say certain things. But as a person who was in this situation, I want to say that everything that I did wrong that night I take full responsibility for. I take full culpability for. And I am mature enough to say where I was wrong. If I could go into it, I would, but I know that this is not the place for that. But I do take responsibility for my wrongs.
I’m not a person who in any shape, way or form doesn’t believe in self-help. In fact, I thought that today in some sort of way, I would be able to get that on certain things that I’m still lacking. I do have a habitual disorder. I do have that. And, again, I’m not here to touch on any of the other subjects. I’m only here to talk to you about me and about, you know, my remorse in the situation. And my responsibility and culpability in the situation. And I just wanted to let you know that I truly am just trying to be a better person. And if you’ll allow me that chance, I promise that I will make your decision worth the while. But I will also make your decision make sense. And I can prove to you that I will do this right, if you give me another chance at my life. That’s all I want to say, your honor.”
source: people.com
