Mutulu Shakur will have to wait two more years to be freed from prison after his request for parole was denied. According to ABC News, Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr did not cite a reason for the decision, saying further information is “not publicly releasable.”
Shakur, who is Tupac‘s stepfather, has served 30 years of his 60-year sentence and will be eligible for parole again in two years.
The 65-year-old is incarcerated at California’s Victorville Penitentiary for plotting the 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored car. Two police officers and a security guard were killed in the incident.
Reports surfaced in February that the social activist was released from prison. Shakur and his son, Mopreme, explained he is still navigating the judicial system.
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Shakur is “supposed to be out, but he’s not out yet,” according to his son. “[We are] dealing with that shit now.”
(This article was first published April 3, 2016 and is as follows.)
Tupac’s stepfather, Mutulu Shakur, may be a free man this week after serving 30 years of his 60-year prison sentence “for masterminding a string of deadly armed robberies in New York and Connecticut committed by a militant political group known as ‘The Family,'” the Associated Press reports.
Shakur‘s parole hearing is scheduled for Monday, April 4.
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His original release date was scheduled for February 10, yet the 65-year old remains an prisoner at the high risk U.S. penitentiary in Victorville, California.
The Baltimore, Maryland native made the FBI’s Most Wanted list after the $1.6 million caper of an armored truck at a Rockland County, New York mall was executed in 1981.
The heist resulted in the killing of a Brinks security guard and two Nyack, New York police officers.
In 1986, he was found in Los Angeles after being on the run for half a decade. He was indicted for racketeering and sentenced to 60 years in prison.
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He was also charged with helping Joanne Chesimard, now known as Assata Shakur, escape from a New Jersey prison in 1979, where she was serving a life sentence for the murder of New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster six years prior. She now lives in Cuba under political asylum.
Mutulu maintains his innocence and has been labeled as a political prisoner to some.
His lawyer argued in court during his 1987 trial that there was no proof that Mutulu was involved with the Brinks caper nor is there proof that he aided Assata in escaping prison.
A #MutuluIsWelcomeHere campaign was started in February in support and preparation of his release.
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“There are enemies of our struggle who are intent on proving that Dr. Mutulu Shakur is a threat and danger to the community and society and does not deserve to be let free to come home,” the website says. “It is important that we challenge that narrative with true stories of personal experiences with Dr. Mutulu Shakur and how we have benefited from knowing him. We are asking that you take the time to describe the impact he has had on your life.”
