Posted by Gregness at 3:55pm Jul 6 '05NEW YORK - Rapper Lil' Kim was sentenced to a year and a day in prison by Judge Gerard Lynch at Manhattan's U.S. District Court Wednesday afternoon. The rapper was also fined $50,000 and will serve three years' probation after her sentence. She must turn herself in to authorities on September 19.
Hip-hop's Queen Bee - a nickname bestowed on the diminutive rapper by her ex-boyfriend, the late Notorious B.I.G. - was facing up to 20 years in prison, but as expected, Lynch's sentence was less severe.
Kim wept and held a Bible as she spoke to the judge before her sentencing, according to eyewitnesses. She admitted to her crime (which ruined any chance of appealing the conviction, although the sentence can be appealed) and said she was sorry. "I take full blame for my actions," she said. "It was wrong, and this is the worst thing I've ever been through." The judge lambasted her for being dishonest, saying that her lies were an insult to him and to the court. A statement is expected from her publicist later on Wednesday afternoon (July 6).
Kim maintained throughout the trial that Damion Butler, one of her co-managers at the time of the incident, was not by her side when shots rang out in front of the radio station; security-camera footage later proved he was - a direct contradiction of what she'd told a federal grand jury. She also told the court she was unable to positively identify a photo of another man who was believed to be involved in the shooting; both that man - Suif "Gutta" Jackson, a member of her former group Junior M.A.F.I.A. - and Butler later confessed to firing on rap group Capone-N-Noreaga, and pleaded guilty to gun charges as part of a plea bargain.
Other members of Junior M.A.F.I.A., including Antoine "Banger" Spain and James "Lil' Cease" Lloyd, took the stand during the trial and testified for the prosecution that they, too, had witnessed Butler and Jackson with Jones at the time of the shooting.
â≠Chris Harris
Hip-hop's Queen Bee - a nickname bestowed on the diminutive rapper by her ex-boyfriend, the late Notorious B.I.G. - was facing up to 20 years in prison, but as expected, Lynch's sentence was less severe.
Kim wept and held a Bible as she spoke to the judge before her sentencing, according to eyewitnesses. She admitted to her crime (which ruined any chance of appealing the conviction, although the sentence can be appealed) and said she was sorry. "I take full blame for my actions," she said. "It was wrong, and this is the worst thing I've ever been through." The judge lambasted her for being dishonest, saying that her lies were an insult to him and to the court. A statement is expected from her publicist later on Wednesday afternoon (July 6).
Kim maintained throughout the trial that Damion Butler, one of her co-managers at the time of the incident, was not by her side when shots rang out in front of the radio station; security-camera footage later proved he was - a direct contradiction of what she'd told a federal grand jury. She also told the court she was unable to positively identify a photo of another man who was believed to be involved in the shooting; both that man - Suif "Gutta" Jackson, a member of her former group Junior M.A.F.I.A. - and Butler later confessed to firing on rap group Capone-N-Noreaga, and pleaded guilty to gun charges as part of a plea bargain.
Other members of Junior M.A.F.I.A., including Antoine "Banger" Spain and James "Lil' Cease" Lloyd, took the stand during the trial and testified for the prosecution that they, too, had witnessed Butler and Jackson with Jones at the time of the shooting.
â≠Chris Harris