As Tory Lanez‘s sentencing date nears, prosecutors have called for the rapper to be sentenced to 13 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020.
A sentencing memorandum obtained by HipHopDX was filed on Tuesday (June 6), and argued Tory’s “campaign of misinformation” via music and social media posts “re-traumatized Megan” in the weeks leading up to the December 2022 trial.
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It also cited Lanez’s “unprovoked attack” on August Alsina, which took place backstage at a comedy show in Chicago last September.
Prosecutors previously argued for a hefty sentence and said Tory (real name Daystar Peterson) “demonstrated a high level of callousness” and “high degree of indifference for human life” when he allegedly shot Megan in the feet during a drunken dispute in July 2020.
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“Words have power and the pen is oftentimes mightier than the sword. In this case, Daystar Peterson used both,” the memorandum read. “Not content to have hurt the victim by use of his sword (gun), he also used his pen. His online posts for nearly three years have re-traumatized the victim.
“His online reach is worldwide (millions of followers plus casual observers) and the defendant’s statements embolden his followers so that they too have been complicit in re-traumatizing the victim. He is responsible for the effect of his words and his actions.”
The memo also focused on Tory’s 2020 album Daystar, which included multiple references to the shooting, and argued the rapper was “profiting from his crimes.”
It also argued that Lanez’s bombshell jail phone call to Megan’s former friend and assistant Kelsey Harris after the shooting was “tantamount to a confession.”
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“The Defense argued unconvincingly at trial that the jail call and apology text were apologies about the defendant allegedly sleeping with both Ms. Harris and the victim,” prosecutors wrote.
“The entire jail call and apology text, when viewed together with the other evidence presented at trial, can only be rationally interpreted as an apology for the defendant shooting the victim. The defendant admitted guilt. As such, his lack of remorse can be appropriately considered by this Court as an aggravating factor.”
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Prosecutors also said Lanez’s behavior following the shooting are legal aggravating factors that make him ineligible for probation, as his conduct both online and elsewhere have shown him to be “incapable of supervision.”
“The Court may also consider the defendant’s lack of remorse as a basis to deny probation,” the memo read. “The defendant has failed to exhibit any remorse, which begs the question whether any of the apologies he directed to the victim in his text message and jail call were genuine and not just driven by an effort to maintain her silence.
“Except for the jail call admission and his apology text to the victim back in July 2020, the defendant has spent nearly three years since that time waging a campaign of misinformation to re-traumatize the victim…[Tory Lanez] not only lacks remorse, he is clearly incapable of accepting any responsibility for his own actions.
It continued: “The defendant’s lack of remorse is insidious, leaving this Court no assurances that the defendant will not repeat this type of behavior in the future.”
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The filing comes amid Tory Lanez’s fight to disqualify Judge Herriford, who rejected his motion for a new trial last month and presided over the rapper’s two-week trial back in December.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal, Division 3 in Los Angeles has yet to make a decision on Lanez’s petition, which accuses Judge Herriford of bias for denying him a new trial.
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If Judge Herriford sides with the prosecution, the Canadian rapper could potentially be sentenced to a maximum of 22 years and 8 months in prison when he learns his fate on June 13.
