Tory Lanez continues to fight for his freedom, but earlier this week, he took another loss. According to Billboard, two petitions filed by his legal team were denied by a California appeals court. In the petitions, his attorneys challenged his convictions related to the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.
He alleged that his due process rights had been violated, and that key pieces of evidence had not been made available to defense attorneys, including the gun and bullet fragments found in Meg's foot. In their ruling, the appeals court mentioned a response from prosecutors, who claimed the gun was at the Los Angeles Police Department. They also argued that testing it for DNA again wouldn't have made a difference.
“Petitioner has failed to [show] that additional DNA testing would establish a claim of actual innocence,” they wrote. “Both parties’ experts at trial agreed that DNA testing of the magazine showed none of petitioner’s DNA was present, and as to the gun itself the inconclusive findings could neither exclude nor include petitioner as a minor contributor to the DNA found on the gun.”
Read More: Megan Thee Stallion Alleges Milagro Gramz Deleted "Thousands Of Messages" With Tory Lanez's Father
Tory Lanez Release Date
The court additionally denied Lanez's claim that prosecutors violated his rights by not collecting a DNA sample from Kelsey Harris, who the artist's team alleged pulled the trigger.
“Petitioner essentially concedes that such a claim is ineffectual,” the appeals court wrote. “The prosecution does not have a duty to collect evidence helpful to the defense.” Lanez's direct appeal of his convictions is still pending at the time of writing. A live hearing for oral arguments is expected to take place later this month.
Lanez was found guilty of shooting at Megan Thee Stallion back in 2022. In 2023, he was sentenced to ten years in prison. He'll be eligible for parole in 2029, and is expected to be released in 2033.
