Will Weezy be just another inmate or will he get protective custody?
"I'd rather be pushin' flowers than to be in the pen sharin' showers" - Lil Wayne, "A Milli"
Lil Wayne is expected to start his yearlong jail term today after pleading guilty in a New York City gun case. He could be out in eight months on good behavior.
With Weezy just the latest in a string of celebrity rappers getting locked up, law enforcement officials have commented on how to keep these guys safe while still not giving them any perceived special treatment.
"It's a challenge," said Martin Horn, a former head of the New York City jails. "It's not about setting [a celebrity] on a bed of roses, but it is about an obligation to every inmate to keep him safe."
Wayne will be just one of approximately 13,000 inmates in NYC.
Past rappers to go through the prison sentence have seen different types of treatment. Foxy Brown was held largely in protective custody in a cell of her own, due to threats during her 2007-2008 incarceration. Wayne's lawyer is also seeking protective custody, as well as for attention to dental problems.
Typically, though, celebrity inmates are advised not to request anything special. Otherwise, "you'll be viewed by other inmates and the prison system as thinking that you're 'more deserving,'" said a consultant.
"Being prominent gets you noticed, and being noticed in prison is generally not very good," New York defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman said.
"I get a lot of love from the inmates. They are familiar with my work, watching my growth over my career," rapper Gucci Mane said recently from the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, where he is serving a six-month sentence on a probation violation. "I love the fact that I'm a rapper. But behind these walls, I'm just another African-American coming up in the South. A lot of these brothas share the same with me. We have a bond."
"I'd rather be pushin' flowers than to be in the pen sharin' showers" - Lil Wayne, "A Milli"
Lil Wayne is expected to start his yearlong jail term today after pleading guilty in a New York City gun case. He could be out in eight months on good behavior.
With Weezy just the latest in a string of celebrity rappers getting locked up, law enforcement officials have commented on how to keep these guys safe while still not giving them any perceived special treatment.
"It's a challenge," said Martin Horn, a former head of the New York City jails. "It's not about setting [a celebrity] on a bed of roses, but it is about an obligation to every inmate to keep him safe."
Wayne will be just one of approximately 13,000 inmates in NYC.
Past rappers to go through the prison sentence have seen different types of treatment. Foxy Brown was held largely in protective custody in a cell of her own, due to threats during her 2007-2008 incarceration. Wayne's lawyer is also seeking protective custody, as well as for attention to dental problems.
Typically, though, celebrity inmates are advised not to request anything special. Otherwise, "you'll be viewed by other inmates and the prison system as thinking that you're 'more deserving,'" said a consultant.
"Being prominent gets you noticed, and being noticed in prison is generally not very good," New York defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman said.
"I get a lot of love from the inmates. They are familiar with my work, watching my growth over my career," rapper Gucci Mane said recently from the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, where he is serving a six-month sentence on a probation violation. "I love the fact that I'm a rapper. But behind these walls, I'm just another African-American coming up in the South. A lot of these brothas share the same with me. We have a bond."
No comments:
Post a Comment