Current:Home > ScamsNew York governor commutes sentence of rapper G. Dep who had turned self in for cold case killing-InfoLens
New York governor commutes sentence of rapper G. Dep who had turned self in for cold case killing
View Date:2024-12-23 16:58:43
NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper Travell “G. Dep” Coleman, who walked into a New York police precinct in 2010 and admitted to committing a nearly two-decade-old cold case murder to clear his conscience, has been granted clemency by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Now 49, Coleman has served 13 of a 15-year-to-life sentence. With his sentence being commuted by the Democratic governor, he will now be allowed to seek parole earlier than his original 2025 date.
Coleman is one of 16 individuals granted clemency by Hochul in an announcement made Friday. They include 12 pardons and four commutations. It marked the third time Hochul has granted clemency in 2023.
“Through the clemency process, it is my solemn responsibility as governor to recognize the efforts individuals have made to improve their lives and show that redemption is possible,” Hochul said in a written statement.
The rapper earned an associate’s degree while in prison and facilitated violence prevention and sobriety counseling programs, while also participating in a variety of educational and rehabilitative classes, according to Hochul’s office. His clemency application was supported by the prosecutor in the case and the judge who sentenced him.
As G. Dep, Coleman had hits with “Special Delivery” and “Let’s Get It” and helped popularize a loose-limbed dance called the Harlem shake in the early 2000s. The rapper was one of the rising stars of hip-hop impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records label in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But his career slumped after his 2001 debut album, “Child of the Ghetto,” and the rapper became mired in drug use and low-level arrests, his lawyer said in 2011.
Attorney Anthony L. Ricco said at the time that Coleman “had been haunted” by the 1993 fatal shooting of John Henkel and decided to confess to shooting someone as a teenager during a robbery in East Harlem. Henkel was shot three times in the chest outside an apartment complex.
His brother, Robert Henkel, had demanded Hochul reject the urgings by prosecutor David Drucker to release Coleman, calling it a “farce.” He told the New York Post that “it is one thing to seek (clemency) for drug crimes - but not murder.”
veryGood! (73)
Related
- Whoopi Goldberg calling herself 'a working person' garners criticism from 'The View' fans
- Kate Middleton Breaks Silence on Edited Family Photo Controversy
- Maritime corridor for aid to Gaza will take two months to build and 1,000 U.S. forces, Pentagon says
- Inside a U.S. airdrop mission to rush food into Gaza
- College football Week 12 expert picks for every Top 25 game include SEC showdowns
- Jimmy Kimmel calls out Greta Gerwig's Oscars snub, skewers 'Madame Web' in opening monologue
- Krispy Kreme offers free doughnuts, introduces 4 new flavors in honor of St. Patrick's Day
- NFL draft order 2024: Where every team will make picks over seven rounds, 257 picks
- Lady Gaga Joins Wednesday Season 2 With Jenna Ortega, So Prepare to Have a Monster Ball
- Dozens of Indian nationals duped into joining Russia's war against Ukraine, government says
Ranking
- A $1 billion proposal is the latest plan to refurbish and save the iconic Houston Astrodome
- Royal Expert Omid Scobie Weighs in On Kate Middleton Photo Controversy
- Cry a River Over Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel’s Perfect Vanity Fair Oscars Party Date Night
- 2 women who bought fatal dose of fentanyl in Mexico for friend sentenced to probation
- Tom Brady Admits He Screwed Up as a Dad to Kids With Bridget Moynahan and Gisele Bündchen
- ‘Oppenheimer’ crew keeps it low key, other winners revel at Vanity Fair’s Oscar after-party
- Krispy Kreme offers free doughnuts, introduces 4 new flavors in honor of St. Patrick's Day
- Mountain lions lurking: 1 killed by car in Oceanside, California, as sightings reported
Recommendation
-
Jeep slashes 2025 Grand Cherokee prices
-
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Make Surprise Appearance at Madonna's Oscars 2024 After-Party
-
Did Monica Sementilli conspire with the man she was having an affair with to murder her husband?
-
Why Al Pacino's 2024 Oscars Best Picture Flub Has the Internet Divided
-
Veterans face challenges starting small businesses but there are plenty of resources to help
-
Elle King Breaks Silence After Drunken Performance at Dolly Parton Tribute Show
-
10 AWD cars and SUVs for 2024 under $30,000
-
Jamie Lee Curtis was In-N-Out of the Oscars, left early for a burger after presenting award