photo courtesy of Democracy Now!
Mutulu Shakur, the stepfather of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, will be released from prison in December after an announcement was made regarding the decision on November 10. His parole begins on December 16, and its purpose is to allow him to spend his final days at 72 outside prison. Mutulu suffers from blood cancer, more specifically, stage-3 multiple myeloma.
According to the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, a lead organizer in the fight to free political prisoner Mutulu said, “There are a lot of tears of joy. 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.”
Tupac Shakur’s stepfather has already served 35 years in prison after his conviction in 1988 for being a leader of civil rights revolutions, some acts of which resulted in several deaths as a result of armed robberies.
Despite efforts over the years, the Movement hadn’t been able to successfully get Mutulu released because his chronic health issues weren’t deemed severe enough to warrant parole. However, as reported by NBC, the approving US Attorney who announced his release explained, “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.”
His condition is so severe that Mutulu has been recently transferred to a medical center until his parole, and his prognosis gives him only six months to live.
The living Shakur is currently being held at a federal medical center in Lexington, Kentucky, which provides care for incarcerated people. Malcolm X Grassroots Movement organizer clarified that his release was not an exoneration but rather a medical exception.
“He was not exonerated. He was given medical parole, which means he could still be snatched back from us. His release doesn’t end his cancer. We’re preparing for him to come home, and we have to figure out transportation because his condition has deteriorated so much that he can’t fly commercially. He’s been able to make it longer than what the doctors have given him, but he still has cancer, and he’s still dying.”