In a late-Tuesday filing, attorneys for hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs urged the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to order his immediate release from prison and reverse his conviction on prostitution-related charges.
The Legal Request
The lawyers argued that federal judge Arun Subramanian treated Combs harshly at sentencing, allowing evidence from charges he had already been acquitted of to influence the punishment. Combs, 56, is serving a four-year, two-month term at a federal prison in New Jersey and is slated for release in May 2028.
Background of the Case
In July, a jury acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. However, he was convicted under the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting people across state lines for any sexual crime. The convictions that remain on his record are two lesser prostitution offenses that did not involve force, fraud, or coercion.
Arguments from the Defense
The attorneys described Subramanian’s October sentencing as acting like a “thirteenth juror.” They contended that the judge erred by letting evidence surrounding the acquitted charges influence the sentence imposed. The lawyers asked the appeals court to either acquit Combs, order his immediate release, or direct the judge to reduce the sentence.
> “Defendants typically get sentenced to less than 15 months for these offenses – even when coercion, which the jury didn’t find here, is involved,” the lawyers wrote.
> “The judge defied the jury’s verdict and found Combs ‘coerced,’ ‘exploited,’ and ‘forced’ his girlfriends to have sex and led a criminal conspiracy. These judicial findings trumped the verdict and led to the highest sentence ever imposed for any remotely similar defendant,” the lawyers wrote.
Sentencing Details
During sentencing, Subramanian stated that he considered the treatment of two former girlfriends. Both testified that Combs beat them and coerced them into having sex with male sex workers while he watched and filmed the encounters, sometimes masturbating.
Former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura testified that Combs ordered her to have “disgusting” sex with strangers hundreds of times during their decade-long relationship that ended in 2018. Jurors saw video of him dragging and beating her in a Los Angeles hotel hallway after one such multiday “freak-off.”
The second former girlfriend, who used the pseudonym “Jane,” said she was pressured into sex with male workers during what Combs called “hotel nights,” drug-fueled sexual encounters from 2021 to 2024 that could last days.
At sentencing, Subramanian rejected the defense’s attempt to characterize the events as merely intimate, consensual experiences or a “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll story.”
> “You abused the power and control that you had over the lives of women you professed to love dearly. You abused them physically, emotionally, and psychologically. And you used that abuse to get your way, especially when it came to freak-offs and hotel nights.”
Current Status
The 2nd Circuit has not yet heard oral arguments on the case. The defense’s filing remains pending, and the court has yet to issue a ruling. Combs remains incarcerated, with a scheduled release date set for May 2028.
Key Takeaways
- Lawyers argue judge’s sentencing was influenced by evidence from acquitted charges.
- Combs was convicted under the Mann Act but acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking.
- The defense seeks immediate release or sentence reduction.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between judicial decisions and jury verdicts in federal criminal proceedings.
