Legal representatives for hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs have filed an urgent appeal, demanding his immediate release from prison. The filing, submitted to a federal appeals court in New York, argues his conviction on prostitution-related charges should be overturned or his four-year sentence significantly reduced.
Appeal Argues Sentencing Judge Acted as "Thirteenth Juror"
In documents lodged with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, Combs' lawyers contend that Judge Arun Subramanian acted improperly during sentencing in October. They allege he allowed evidence from charges Combs was acquitted of to unjustly influence the punishment, effectively acting as a "thirteenth juror."
The 56-year-old music executive, currently incarcerated at a federal prison in New Jersey, was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking following a trial that concluded in July. However, he was convicted under the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting individuals across state lines for any sexual crime. His scheduled release date is May 2028.
Defence Claims Sentence Defies Jury Verdict and Legal Norms
The appeal stresses that Combs was found guilty of two lesser counts of prostitution offenses that did not involve findings of force, fraud, or coercion by the jury. His legal team argues the sentence is extraordinarily harsh for such convictions.
"Defendants typically get sentenced to less than 15 months for these offenses — even when coercion, which the jury didn’t find here, is involved," the lawyers wrote. They assert that Judge Subramanian "defied the jury’s verdict" by making independent findings that Combs had coerced and exploited his former girlfriends, leading to what they call the highest sentence ever imposed for a remotely similar defendant.
The filing requests the appeals court to either acquit Combs, order his immediate release, or instruct Judge Subramanian to impose a reduced sentence. Oral arguments have not yet been heard by the appellate judges.
Graphic Testimony Formed Basis for Judge's Sentencing Remarks
During the original sentencing, Judge Subramanian stated he considered the treatment of two former girlfriends when calculating the prison term. Both women provided detailed testimony about their relationships with the Bad Boy Records founder.
Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura testified that during their decade-long relationship, which ended in 2018, Combs ordered her to have sex with strangers hundreds of times. Jurors were shown a video of Combs dragging and beating her in a Los Angeles hotel hallway. A second former girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym "Jane," said she was pressured into sexual encounters with male sex workers during drug-fuelled "hotel nights" from 2021 to 2024.
In his sentencing comments, Judge Subramanian rejected the defence's characterisation of events. "You abused the power and control that you had over the lives of women you professed to love dearly," he told Combs. "You abused them physically, emotionally, and psychologically. And you used that abuse to get your way, especially when it came to freak-offs and hotel nights."
The outcome of this appeal will now determine whether Sean Combs serves his full sentence or is granted an early release, marking a critical next chapter in the high-profile legal saga.
