Who is Michael ‘Harry-O’ Harris? How Snoop Dogg helped Death Row Records co-founder get Trump's pardon
On his final day as President on the United States, Donald Trump pardoned Death Row Records co-founder Michael 'Harry-O' Harris after he spent 32 years behind bars after being convicted of murder and attempted kidnapping in 1988. The long batch of over 100 pardons and commutations, which included the likes of Steve Bannon, Lil Wayne, Elliott Broidy and Kodak Black, also featured Harris, who is now 60.
The drug kingpin reportedly had his sentence pardoned by Trump on January 19, 2021, just one day before his presidential term comes to an end.
Help from Snoop Dogg
Harris’ close pal and rapper Snoop Dogg reportedly advocated for his release to the president along with hip-hop producer and activist Weldon Angelos and Alice Marie Johnson, both whom were also pardoned by Trump. According to Johnson, the two spoke with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner to make the president aware of Harris' case.
Angelos, a criminal justice reform advocate, told AllHipHop that the long overdue pardon was "corrected injustice". "This is definitely an injustice they corrected today. Out of all this drama going on with the White House, something good has come out of this."
"The president knows how much this case means to me," criminal justice reform advocate Johnson continued. "In reviewing Michael Harris’ case, his story, and what he’s gone through, this is such an unfair case… He should have been home a decade ago. I really felt for this man. I am very hopeful that he will be home before the end of the Trump administration."
Snoop Dogg, who was reportedly told about the pardon on Sunday, said, "I love what they did," adding, "They did some great work while they were in there and they did some great work on their way out. Let them know that I love what they did."
Who is Michael 'Harry-O' Harris?
Harris is a music executive who financed the record label Death Row Records, which is well known for signing 2pac, Dr Dre, and Snoop Dogg, reportedly giving a $1.5 million investment to the label's co-founder Marion 'Suge' Knight. He was serving a prison sentence, scheduled to be released from jail in October of 2028, over drug trafficking and attempted murder charges at the Federal Correctional Institution Lompoc in California. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, when he tested positive, his attorneys had asked for a compassionate release from prison arguing his struggles with autoimmune disease Guillain-Barré Syndrom and risks to his life, but it was denied by a judge.
While serving prison terms totalling more than 40 years, he financed the start of Death Row Records in the 1990s. Through David Kenner, an attorney handling Harris's appeal, Harry-O set up Godfather, a parent company for the newly christened Death Row. The label became a very successful business venture for both Harris and Knight, selling 18 million albums and earning more than $325 million during its first four years. Through Godfather, Harris produced a Broadway adaption of Ron Milner's 'Checkmates' in 1988, which starred award-winners like Ruby Dee and Paul Winfield, and also served as the Broadway debut of Denzel Washington a year before he won an Academy Award for 'Glory'.
After being convicted of murder, he has reportedly campaigned for prison reform. "He has accomplished a lot through the different programs he was creating and doing on the streets from prison. And his post-release plans," Angelos promised.
Harris’ attorney, Bruce Zucker, told DailyMail.com that Harris’ release was long overdue and his 20-year sentence was ‘unduly harsh’. "It occurred during the 1980s, at a time when then Presidents Ronald Regan and George H.W. Bush authorized legislation that imposed draconian penalties for drug offences, which primarily and adversely affected young African American men living in the inner-city, such as Mr Harris," he said.