LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Former Death Row label boss Marion “Suge” Knight has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for killing a man with his vehicle during a confrontation outside of a Los Angeles restaurant in 2015.
According to CBS News, Knight, who is 53, received 22 years on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of 5-year-old Terry Carter, and an additional 6 years as a “third strike” violation.
Knight listened without reaction as members of Carter’s family described Knight as a “disgusting, selfish disgrace to the human species” during the hearing on Thursday.
The sentencing draws to a close the four-year court saga over the fatal confrontation. During the incident, Knight had been fighting with a longtime rival through the driver’s window of his truck when put the vehicle into gear, striking and killing carter.
Knight’s attorneys contended that he was acting in self-defense at the time, but last month, Knight pleaded no contest to the voluntary manslaughter charge in order to stave off a trial on murder and attempted murder charges.
Once one of the most important figures in hip-hop, Knight’s Death Row Records served as vehicles for the career of rap luminaries such as Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg.
However, Knight has been the subject of allegations of criminality. According to N.W.A’s manager Jerry Heller, Knight and his associates threatened Heller and Eazy-E with lead pipes and baseball bats to force them to release several clients, including Dr. Dre from management contracts.
As well, Knight was at the center of a dispute in the 1990s between east coast and west coast rap performers. Knight was accused by former LAPD detective Russell Poole, as well as former Death Row Records alumni Snoop Dogg of being implicated in the shooting deaths of rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. However, Knight has never been criminally charged in connection with the deaths.
Knight has also previously been arrested for a variety of crimes, including theft, and attempted murder, and was incarcerated for violation of probation in 2003.
