Tory Lanez, who is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020, is back in court with his legal team working to overturn his 2022 conviction.
Here we go.
On August 18, Lanez’s attorney Crystal Morgan appeared before California’s Second District Court of Appeal and argued that the DNA evidence used against him was misrepresented. “It is actually marginally more likely that another member of the African American population touched this gun over Mr. Peterson,” she said, according to Billboard and XXL Magazine. “If our jury had heard that Mr. Peterson maybe one in a million touched the gun, I believe that would have been enough to tip that scale and show reasonable doubt.”
Jose A. Baez, another member of Lanez’s defense, argued the DNA results actually pointed away from the Canadian artist, born Daystar Peterson. “I would say it is a statistical fact that any random African American male was more likely a contributor to the DNA on the gun than Daystar Peterson,” Baez stated. “In fact, the DNA community has a random profile that is used as a control sample, and that profile was determined to match the mixture found on the gun rather than Daystar Peterson. To be clear, it would be reckless and a complete fabrication to say that Tory’s DNA was on that gun and to not exclude him as a contributor.”
For the record Baez, represented the notoriously acquitted Casey Anthony once upon a time and is a seasoned defense attorney.
Prosecutors countered the appeal by pointing to what they claim were admissions from Lanez himself. California Deputy Attorney General Michael C. Keller told the judges, “There’s three times in which (Lanez) tacitly admitted to being the shooter.” Keller referenced a text Lanez sent Megan, where he apologized for something that “never should have happened,” blamed alcohol, and told her she “probably” would never speak to him again. Though Lanez insisted the apology had nothing to do with the shooting, Keller argued, “He was clearly accepting responsibility for something very big.”
In case you missed it, during the original trial, experts determined that the DNA found on the weapon was inconclusive. Still, Lanez was convicted on multiple charges and sentenced to a decade in prison.
What’s more, adding to his challenges behind bars, Lanez was hospitalized in May after being stabbed multiple times by another inmate. His father later confirmed that he was “recovering remarkably.”
The contested appeals arguments in Los Angeles came just days after Lanez’s legal team faced setbacks in two other petitions. On August 12, a three-judge panel rejected his habeas corpus filings, citing delays, insufficient evidence, and procedural issues. A witness affidavit the defense labeled as new evidence was dismissed as untimely, while two affidavits from Lanez’s driver were ruled “inadmissible.” Judges also denied the request for new DNA testing, noting that the defense failed to request such testing during trial and had not shown that further analysis would prove actual innocence.
Seems like the appeal is just heating up. Stay tuned.