Convicted music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has made a desperate plea to the judge for leniency ahead of his sentencing hearing, scheduled for Friday at 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT). In a four-page letter submitted to Judge Arun Subramanian, the 54-year-old blamed his past violent behavior on drug addiction and claimed he has fundamentally reformed his life while incarcerated.
Combs, who was found guilty in July of two prostitution-related counts that carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, expressed deep remorse for his conduct.
Plea: “I Lost My Way”
In his letter, Combs apologized “for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused,” specifically addressing his violent assault on his former girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura.
“I literally lost my mind,” he wrote. “I’m sorry for that and always will be. My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will have to forever carry.”
He also apologized to the woman identified as “Jane” who testified against him, stating his downfall was rooted in “selfishness” and that he became “lost in the drugs and the excess.”
Combs claimed his 13 months in a Brooklyn jail have left him “humbled and broken to my core,” asserting that he is now sober “for the first time in 25 years” and teaching fellow inmates about business. “The old me died in jail and new version of me was reborn,” he argued.
He asked for leniency not only for himself but also for his seven children and his 84-year-old mother, who recently underwent brain surgery, urging the court to see him as an “example of what a person can do if afforded a second chance.”
Accusers Fear Retribution
Despite Combs’s plea, his accusers have written to the judge urging a lengthy sentence and expressing fears that he will seek retribution if released.
Cassie Ventura wrote that she is “so scared that if he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution towards me and others who spoke up.” She dismissed his claims of reform, adding, “He has no interest in changing or becoming better. He will always be the same cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man that he is.”
Sentencing Hearing Details
- Prosecution Stance: Prosecutors are pressing for at least 11 years in prison, maintaining in a previous filing that Combs is “unrepentant” and is merely trying “to recast decades of abuse as simply the function of mutually toxic relationships.”
- Defense Request: Combs’s legal team has asked the court to release him later this month, effectively seeking a sentence of time served. They plan to present their case in court today, including a currently undisclosed 15-minute video.
- Previous Verdict: A jury acquitted Combs of the most serious charges—racketeering and sex trafficking—in July, which spared him the prospect of life behind bars.
Combs is expected to speak directly to the court before Judge Subramanian delivers the sentence.
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