• Rapper faces long prison sentence over his lyrics
    39 replies, posted
[url]http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/23/entertainment/tiny-doo-rap-conspiracy-charges/[/url] [quote]San Diego-based rapper Tiny Doo has already spent eight months in prison, and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted under a little-known California statute that makes it illegal to benefit from gang activities. The statute in question is California Penal Code 182.5. The code makes it a felony for anyone to participate in a criminal street gang, have knowledge that a street gang has engaged in criminal activity, or benefit from that activity. It's that last part -- benefiting from criminal activity -- that prosecutors are going after the rapper for. Tiny Doo, whose real name is Brandon Duncan, faces nine counts of criminal street gang conspiracy because prosecutors allege he and 14 other alleged gang members increased their stature and respect following a rash of shootings in the city in 2013. Prosecutors point to Tiny Doo's album, "No Safety," and to lyrics like "Ain't no safety on this pistol I'm holding" as examples of a "direct correlation to what the gang has been doing." No one suggests the rapper ever actually pulled a trigger. In fact, Duncan may rap about violence but he's got no criminal record.[/quote]
[quote]lyrics like "Ain't no safety on this pistol I'm holding" as examples of a "direct correlation to what the gang has been doing."[/quote] If this is [I]literally[/I] the best argument they can pull out their dumb-fuck heads then this is beyond fucking retarded
This will hold no ground, theres been similar retarded cases that have been thrown out.
How do you use song lyrics as evidence against someone?
I'm surprised the ACLU hasn't stepped in. That's a blatant disregard to the first amendment. If he's found not guilty I'd sue the shit out of the city
"Ain't no safety on this pistol I'm holding" Yeah that's actually pretty common in carry handguns nowadays, nothing gang related about it, heck the most popular law enforcement pistol in the country (Glock) doesn't have a manual safety. If this weren't California he wouldn't even be facing charges for that.
[QUOTE=Garrot;47008480]How do you use song lyrics as evidence against someone?[/QUOTE] Fuck, what if that one guy really WAS the walrus?!
This is pretty common, actually - the precedent's been set that lyrics can't be used as direct evidence (especially when they're this vague). I don't think a single court case has successfully prosecuted based on lyrics. If he rapped like "I shot that store owner at 10:32 PM on Sunday, April 15th" or something, they'd probably use that as a confession or evidence though
[QUOTE=Garrot;47008480]How do you use song lyrics as evidence against someone?[/QUOTE] Well if they kill the sheriff and then make a song about it, it's worth a shot. The death of the deputy remains a mystery.
I'm sure they got more on him then some lyrics. I don't believe they would get someone for something like that.
[quote]The code makes it a felony for anyone to participate in a criminal street gang, [B]have knowledge that a street gang has engaged in criminal activity[/B], or benefit from that activity.[/quote] But that's what street gangs [I]do[/I]? Or am I being stupid?
[quote]Prosecutors point to Tiny Doo's album, "No Safety," and to lyrics like "Ain't no safety on this pistol I'm holding" as examples of a "direct correlation to what the gang has been doing."[/quote] Yo, somebody give Reed Richards a call because he'd probably like to know how to make a stretch this ludicrous.
[QUOTE=Charybdis;47008797]But that's what street gangs [I]do[/I]? Or am I being stupid?[/QUOTE] I think that clause is supposed to catch people who witness a gang crime and then fail to report it to the police.
i thought this was going to be about bobby shmurda also relevant video [video=vimeo;30821163]http://vimeo.com/30821163[/video]
tiny doo a name that truly represents gang violence and not something sesame street
If people could get sentenced over rap lyrics, at least half of all the MC's out there would be in jail right now. This is honestly the dumbest shit I've heard all week.
yet nazi black metal is ok.
He benefits from [quote]gang members increased their stature and respect[/quote]? What the hell does that mean? How do you quantify that? Respect from whom and how does that benefit him? So even ignoring the ridiculous idea of using lyrics as evidence of something, this is obviously just prosecutors piling whatever they can think of on as charges.
does this mean "straight outta compton" warrants a death penalty?
Meanwhile we have people with like lyrics like this: "How the fuck we sneak in with this many heaters in our jeans, nina, 2 nina's, a piece and they dont even see us some shit pops off we squeeze each one they gon' think its machine guns, vanos vo vano, bananas in our flannels, hands around our colt handles, hold them like roman candles" "We don't do drivebys, we park in front of houses and shoot, and when the police come, we fuckin' shoot it out with them too!" "Sorry officer, I don't care how pissed it gets you, but I don't go nowhere without my pistol pistol." "Go to sleep bitch, die motherfucker die, time's up bitch, close your eyes, go to sleep bitch, why are you still alive, how many times I gotta say close your eyes, go to sleep bitch, die motherfucker die, bye bye, bye bye, go to sleep bitch, why are you still alive? Die motherfucker die-ie-ie!" who are apparently perfectly fine. This is hilarious.
the icing on this shitty case is the last part "In fact, Duncan may rap about violence but he's got no criminal record"
[quote]have knowledge that a street gang has engaged in criminal activity[/quote] The wording in the article makes it sound like being a witness or victim of a gang attack makes you a criminal.
[QUOTE=Terminutter;47008672]Well if they kill the sheriff and then make a song about it, it's worth a shot. The death of the deputy remains a mystery.[/QUOTE] Assuming the gang this rapper is associated with did kill anyone, it's preposterous to throw him in with the lot merely because he rapped about events similar to it. I'm certain a good lawyer would be able to shoot down that sort of argument.
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;47008884]He benefits from ? What the hell does that mean? How do you quantify that? Respect from whom and how does that benefit him? So even ignoring the ridiculous idea of using lyrics as evidence of something, this is obviously just prosecutors piling whatever they can think of on as charges.[/QUOTE] It's scare words that prosecutors like to use. Reminds me of a controversy where I live where the mayor made a vaguely gun-shaped point in a pose with a black volunteer. Picture got taken up by a local news station and an ex-cop with a grudge said that the "gang sing" definitely legitimized gang violence in the area, and then they called the black volunteer a criminal felon. It's stupid as shit.
I remember reading this a few months ago. This guy was in real gang crimes but they could never pin him for it without solid evidence so they used his lyrics as the only way to finally persecute him.
so much of rap is just people playing up to a character anyway. there's no way to discern whether any song lyric is literally about a person or whether they are rapping or singing in-character i mean jay-z has rapped really blatantly about being a drug dealer in his youth but you can't prosecute him for it
Wait, There not going to look at countless other rappers lyrics. I mean come on. [QUOTE]lyrics like "Ain't no safety on this pistol I'm holding" as examples of a "direct correlation to what the gang has been doing."[/QUOTE] If they are using that (which looks like nothing compared to others) as the worst thing he has said then what the fuck...
[QUOTE]and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted under a little-known California statute that makes it illegal to benefit from gang activities.[/QUOTE] Welp, there goes your freedom of speech, and 70% of all modern rap songs recorded down the drain.
Man, they are gonna have to execute Immortal Technique's ass then.
sensationalist as fuck this is a joke
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.