Mutulu Shakur: 2Pac's ailing stepdad to walk out on parole to spend last days with family after serving 35 yrs
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY: Mutulu Shakur, 72, Tupac Shakur's stepfather, will be released on parole on December 16 after serving more than 35 years in prison. He will spend his final days with family and friends in Southern California. Shakur was recently diagnosed with "blood cancer," as per one report, with a Bureau of Prisons doctor claiming in May he had less than six months to live.
According to court documents obtained by NBC, in October the US Parole Commission granted a request to release Shakur, an activist, who requires medical attention, and holistic healthcare advocate. On Thursday, November 10 the decision to grant parole was made public. He is being held for a series of 1988 armed robberies in New York and Connecticut, at a federal medical center in Lexington, a Kentucky prison for inmates.
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The most serious illness troubling Shakur, apart from other ailments, is Stage 3 multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that can affect the bones and kidneys. “There are a lot of tears of joy,” said Jomo Muhammad, an organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement who has been working to free Shakur. “There’s still disbelief because we were steadying ourselves for another denial. Now folks are excited about being able to reunite Mutulu with his family. We were crying together. It’s a long time overdue,” Muhammad stated.
One of the robberies carried out by Shakur resulted in the death of three people. His supporters consider him a "political prisoner," claiming that authorities wanted to punish him for his activism as his release has been denied several times over the years with authorities claiming his crimes were too serious besides his health not being affected sufficiently to warrant his release.
In October, Commission officials informed Shakur, "We now find your medical condition renders you so infirm of mind and body that you are no longer physically capable of committing any Federal, State, or local crime." Activists have lobbied for Shakur's compassionate release, urging authorities to let him spend his final days with his family rather than in a Kentucky medical prison.
Shakur has also lost significant weight, has had Covid-19 at least twice, and has relied on IV feeding tubes on and off since May, according to his attorney, Brad Thomson, the report said.
Shakur will be monitored for up to four months after being granted parole. Muhammad expressed gratitude that Shakur is still alive, and that his supporters and family are working to ensure that he receives the best medical care possible.
