NEW YORK — (AP) — Lawyers for music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs urged a judge Monday to sentence him to no more than 14 months in prison for his conviction on two prostitution-related charges, meaning he would go free almost immediately if the judge agreed.
In a written submission, Combs' legal team said he has already been punished enough.
“Mr. Combs’s celebrity status in the realms of music, fashion, spirits, media, and finance has been shattered and Mr. Combs’s legacy has been destroyed,” the lawyers wrote to Judge Arun Subramanian, who is scheduled to decide the former hip-hop mogul's sentence Oct. 3.
The court filing also provided new information about what Combs' life has been like during his nearly 13 months behind bars, describing intense surveillance by guards and at least one threat of violence.
Combs was convicted in July of two violations of the Mann Act, which outlaws interstate commerce related to prostitution. Prosecutors said he arranged for paid sexual encounters between his girlfriends and male sex workers. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The Bad Boy Records founder was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that could have led to a life sentence.
In their submission, Combs' lawyers argued that the jury sent a message by exonerating Combs of the most serious charges.
“He has served over a year in one of the most notorious jails in America — yet has made the most of that punishment. It is time for Mr. Combs to go home to his family, so he can continue his treatment and try to make the most of the next chapter of his extraordinary life,” they added.
Prosecutor have said they will urge the judge to keep Combs locked up for years.
Combs’s life in prison has been harrowing at times, his lawyers said.
On one occasion, an inmate approached Combs with a shiv — a makeshift blade — and accused Combs of sitting on his chair, the lawyers wrote. Combs calmed the man down, the lawyers said.
They said he has been under constant suicide watch, meaning every two hours he must present his identification card to guards to show he is alive and well. He is also frequently awakened from sleep in a brightly lighted cell.
Combs heats his drinking water because he doesn't trust that it is clean and must sleep within two feet of other inmates in a dorm-style room containing a bathroom with no door, the lawyers wrote.
“Mr. Combs has not breathed fresh air in nearly 13 months, or felt sunlight on his skin, often walking with a limp due to a painful knee injury that requires surgery,” they said. And the food, they added, sometimes contains maggots.
For all its discomforts, prison has also allowed Combs to become sober for the first time in 25 years, his lawyers wrote.
They portrayed their client as a changed man, who had realized that his overuse of drugs, including some prescribed by doctors, had contributed to violent acts he participated in.
“Without minimizing Mr. Combs’s conduct, this is in many ways a ‘sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll’ story,” they said.
The music maven's trial featured lengthy testimony from two former girlfriends of Combs who said they felt forced to participate in drug-fueled sex marathons with male sex workers as Combs watched. R&B singer Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura described being beaten by Combs when she displeased him. Another ex-girlfriend, testifying under the pseudonym "Jane," said she also felt pressured to perform sexually with male sex workers, and testified that he had put her in a chokehold and punched her in the face in one fit of rage.
Combs lawyers described him as “a humbled man.” They quoted Combs as telling a probation officer that he once thought "success and money gave me freedom to do whatever I wanted to do with no real consequences.”
“I used to call myself a king. But I didn’t act like a king. I didn’t act like a man,” Combs said, according to the lawyers. “This situation has made me become a man, a man who knows and understands his responsibilities.”
Combs' downfall has destroyed his business, his lawyers said. More than 100 employees from his companies have been let go. Many have been unable to get new jobs because of their past association with Combs, the lawyers wrote.
His seven children, they said, have faced “devastating consequences,” including lost business opportunities in acting, television, fashion and concerts, with some of them being included in some of the nearly 100 civil lawsuits filed against Combs since his arrest.
The lawyers also noted that Combs and his family were set to star in a Hulu show about their lives, but the show was canceled once the allegations against him became public.
Combs was removed from the boards at three charter schools he created in Harlem, the Bronx and Connecticut and was stripped of an honorary doctoral degree from Howard University, which plans to return his prior donations, they said.
Prosecutors have yet to submit their recommendations for a sentence, but in a previous court filing they said his “extensive history of violence” and attempts to minimize his conduct demonstrates that he is still a dangerous person.
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