Photo Credit: Jimmy Woo
Sean “Diddy” Combs joins self-improvement programs in prison in an effort to land less prison time at his October sentencing.
In a bid to secure less prison time at his upcoming sentencing in October, Sean “Diddy” Combs has joined self-improvement programs at Brooklyn’s MDC lockup where he is being held. The 55-year-old was convicted earlier this month on prostitution charges, though he was cleared of sex trafficking and racketeering counts.
At his October 3 sentencing, he faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars. However, he’ll likely get a far lighter sentence—estimated to be somewhere between 15 months and five years.
In the meantime, the music mogul has entered the STOP Program to help him work on a history of violence against women. He is also undergoing therapy and has entered a drug abuse program run by Dr. Harry Wexler.
“It’s a tale as old as time,” said former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, who is now a criminal defense lawyer. “These are calculated legal and PR moves.”
According to Rahmani, Combs wants to show Judge Arun Subramanian that “he’s accepted responsibility, that he’s willing to change, that he’s not going to re-offend.” Moreover, he wants to demonstrate that the crimes he committed were “all drug and mental-health related,” and that he’s “committed to improving his life.”
“It’s Lawyering 101,” added Rahmani.
Meanwhile, the federal probation department will also make a determination whether it believes the guideline range for Combs lies, weighing in factors such as criminal history. Combs’ lawyers and the prosecution will give their final estimates as to the mogul’s sentencing.
Ultimately, the judge will take opinions from the prosecution, the defense, and the probation department to determine what he believes Combs’ sentencing guidelines should be.
During the trial, Combs’ attorneys admitted to the jury that their client had a history of domestic violence. However, neither that nor his penchant for “kinky sex” made him guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering, they asserted. The jury found him not guilty of the three most egregious charges against him, which could have seen him face life in prison.
