Sean Diddy Combs Trial: Defense and Prosecution Agree on Expediting Sentencing, as Speculations Over Potential Long Sentence Are on the Rise

Defense and Prosecution agree on expediting sentencing, the judge will respond in writing.

After the split verdict in the high-profile Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial had him acquitted of the main charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering, but convicted of ‘transporting to engage in prostitution’, expectations are running high regarding his sentencing.

The verdict in Diddy’s trial was a major win for the defense, but the initial euphoria that overtook the rapper’s camp has greatly subsided.

Judge Arun Subramanian denied Diddy bail, like he had already done four times before the trial, and his reasoning for the refusal of the $1 million bail package – the rapper’s history of violence – was understood by analysts to be a sign of trouble come sentencing time.

Each of the two ‘transporting to prostitution’ charges carry a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.

Diddy’s lawyers reportedly want less than the 21 to 27 months in prison that they believe the sentencing guidelines recommend, and many think they will ask for ‘time served’ meaning that he would go free after sentencing.

But prosecutors argue that the guidelines, taking into account his crimes and violent history, call for at least four to five years in prison.

Initially, the Judge set the sentencing for October, but is open to expediting it, to be discussed at a conference today (8).

In the morning, a filing showed that Defense and Prosecution have reached an agreement on earlier dates for the sentencing process.

Today’s court hearing lasted just a few minutes, with the Judge saying that he will deliver his decision on the sentencing dates in writing – presumably over the next few days.

The defense’s urgency in the sentencing – arguing that he is a single parent to two young daughters – further indicate that not only will they ask for ‘time served’, but that they firmly believe that they will get it.

But most legal experts are not so sure.

Daily Mail reported:

“Robert Shapiro, the lead defense attorney in Simpson’s infamous murder trial, said Diddy would likely face two to three-and-a-half years in prison after being acquitted of sex-trafficking and racketeering but convicted for lesser prostitution offenses.

‘Having seen that this judge did not release him on bail, I think a message may be coming that you’re going to be spending a lot more time, so no reason to let you come out and come back in,’ Shapiro told Fox News Digital.

Shapiro noted that in denying Diddy bail, Judge Arun Subramanian mentioned the mogul’s ‘propensity for violence,’ citing the 2016 footage of the rapper assaulting Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway in Los Angeles.

‘If the judge looks at that tape in his mind and is reminded about it again… I think there is a real chance that a substantial sentence will be forthcoming,’ the attorney said.”

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