Duane “Keffe D” Davis says his conviction in Tupac Shakur‘s murder case isn’t the final chapter. Just days after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, Keffe told The Hollywood Reporter that he’s confident about winning his freedom on appeal.
“I ain’t worried. I’m getting out on an appeal,” Keffe, 63, said from the Clark County Detention Center in Nevada. “We already filed it before the trial even started. They violated my civil rights!” His case has drawn massive attention in hip hop biography circles and beyond, as it represents the first and only conviction related to Tupac Shakur‘s 1996 killing.
Keffe, the only person ever charged in Shakur’s death, was convicted August 31 after jurors deliberated for less than three hours. He faces life in prison and has accused prosecutors and witnesses of lying about him throughout the trial. His legal team plans to challenge the evidence and testimony presented.
“Man, they lied about me so much. I don’t even know where to begin,” Keffe told the outlet. He had particularly strong words about prosecutors’ use of his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, during the trial—a book that became significant in mass incarceration cases involving hip hop figures.
“I never wrote that book,” Keffe claimed, explaining that he only supplied stories and photos to the author. He continues to maintain his innocence despite the guilty verdict. “I’m a good man, man. I’m a good person. They got an innocent man sitting in jail.”
Shakur was shot in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, and died six days later at age 25. The case had remained unsolved for nearly three decades before Keffe’s arrest, making this conviction a significant moment in hip hop history and the ongoing conversation around mass incarceration.
★m★
