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Diddy's lawyers seek his immediate release from prison
Diddy's lawyers claim the judge acted as a 13th juror in the case and that he allowed evidence around the acquitted charges influence the sentencing.
NEW YORK - Lawyers for hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs asked a federal appeals court in New York late Tuesday to immediately free him from prison, arguing that his conviction on prostitution-related charges should be overturned or his four-year sentence sharply reduced.
What we know:
In a court filing, attorneys for Diddy said a federal judge improperly punished him for allegations a jury had already rejected, resulting in what they called an unprecedented and excessive sentence.
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Where is Diddy and how long will he be behind bars?
The backstory:
Diddy, 56, is serving time at a federal prison in New Jersey and is scheduled for release in May 2028.
A jury acquitted him in July of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges but convicted him under the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting people across state lines for illegal sexual activity.
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According to the Associated Press, since Diddy has already served one year in prison, he will likely serve about another three years.
Diddy's lawyers accuse judge of acting as 13th juror
His lawyers argue that U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian crossed a legal line at sentencing in Oct. by relying on evidence tied to charges for which Diddy was acquitted. They accused the judge of acting as a "thirteenth juror" and allowing those allegations to inflate the punishment.
They emphasized that Diddy was convicted only of two lesser prostitution-related counts that did not require proof of force, fraud, or coercion. The defense urged the appeals court to vacate the conviction, order his immediate release, or send the case back to Subramanian with instructions to reduce the sentence.
"Defendants typically get sentenced to less than 15 months for these offenses — even when coercion, which the jury didn’t find here, is involved," the lawyers wrote.
They argued that the judge ignored the jury’s verdict and instead made his own findings that Diddy "coerced," "exploited," and "forced" women into sexual acts — conclusions the defense says directly led to the longest sentence ever imposed for a comparable case.
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Ddidy is set to be released in May 2028, though he can earn reductions in his time behind bars through his participation in substance abuse treatment and other prison programs.
Cassie and ‘Jane’
Cassie Ventura breaks down under redirect questioning as Judge Arun Subramanian looks on (May 16, 2025)
Dig deeper:
At sentencing, Subramanian said he considered testimony from two former girlfriends who accused the Bad Boy Records founder of physical abuse and of pressuring them into sex with male escorts while he watched, filmed the encounters, and sometimes masturbated.
One of those women, singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, testified that Diddy ordered her to engage in what she described as "disgusting" sex acts with strangers hundreds of times during their decade-long relationship, which ended in 2018. Jurors also saw surveillance video showing him dragging and beating her in a Los Angeles hotel hallway following one multiday "freak-off."
"Jane" continues her direct testimony.
The second former girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym "Jane," told jurors she felt pressured to participate in sex with male escorts during drug-fueled encounters known as "hotel nights" between 2021 and 2024 — sessions she said could last for days.
At sentencing, Subramanian rejected the defense’s characterization of the conduct as consensual.
"I reject the defense’s attempt to characterize what happened here as merely intimate, consensual experiences, or just a sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll story," he said.
"You abused the power and control that you had over the lives of women you professed to love dearly," the judge added. "You abused them physically, emotionally, and psychologically. And you used that abuse to get your way."
What's next:
The appeals court has not yet scheduled oral arguments or indicated when it will rule on the request.
The Source: This report is based on information from the Associated Press.