Knight was on probation for assaulting two rappers at a Hollywood recording studio in 1992. Last September 7, a surveillance camera videotaped him and a group of other men beating a Los Angeles gang member at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Knight's lawyers argued that he was actually trying to break up the fight. Hours later, gunmen would fire into Knight's car killing rapper Tupac Shakur and slightly wounding Knight. Police have not characterized the shooting as a retaliation for the earlier beating.
The 31-year-old, 300-lb. Knight had eight arrests since 1987, and served a total of six probations for his crimes. "How many bites of the probation apple does this defendant get?" the prosecutor, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney William Hodgman asked in court today.
But Knight appealed to the judge for one more chance. "I've learned a lot from being incarcerated," he said quietly. " I'm closer to God now...I know I do a lot of good for the community...I'm needed in the community."
"It wasn't a nine-year kick," Knight added, referring to videotape which showed him booting the victim at the MGM Grand.
Before he spoke, three representatives of black self-help groups had backed up his claim in testimony: Danny Bakewell of L.A.'s Brotherhood Crusade, Rahim Jenkins of Washington, D.C.-based Righteous Men's Commission and Melba Jackson Carter, who mentors teenage African Americans in Southern California.
The defense used the three speakers to turn the trial into a referendum on rap music. If probation was granted, they argued, the world would see the reformation, the recreation of Suge Knight, Death Row Records and the entire rap industry. "[Black leaders] see this man as a savior...He's willing to change his lyrics, change his message," attorney Milton Grimes said. "He can feed the minds of young people." Knight himself promised his artists would no longer use the word nigger in their songs. It was a nod to civil rights leader C. Dolores Tucker, a longtime critic of rap lyrics who was in court today to support Knight.
But L.A. Superior Court Judge J. Stephen Czuleger--who brusquely denied several defense motions throughout the hearing-- didn't buy it. His words were as harsh as his sentence. "Mr. Knight, you blew it," Czuleger said. "You had everything going for you. But the problem is you have engaged in one thing over the years that causes me grave concern and that is the danger element.
"You have a need to explain away and not take responsiblity for your actions...I wish I could but I can't trust you...In the interest of public safety I cannot put you back on probation."
Knight has 60 days to appeal the decision. The judge credited him with 375 days served, including nearly five months in jail since November, meaning the rap mogul will be in California state prison for just under eight years.
Several Death Row artists, including M.C. Hammer, were in the courtroom to show support for Knight, along with some of his family members. His mother, Maxine, said afterwards that "the judge is just prejudiced." Hammer agreed: "It's hard for society to accept the rise of a black man to a position of extreme independent power," he said. Only about a dozen protesters gathered outside the courtroom after a press release from Death Row yesterday had given the impression that many more would appear. Some 200 unused picket signs were left on the street.
Death Row spokesman George Pryce told E! Online afterward that it would be "business as usual" at the label. The label's general manager Norris Anderson, in charge for the past five months, will still run the company in Knight's absence. But Death Row's troubles are almost certainly not over. The FBI is investigating the company, reportedly for its links to Los Angeles street gangs.
(Updated 6 p.m. PT)