Sean Combs fell to his knees as trial verdict was read out
The 55-year-old music mogul was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution – charges each carrying a maximum 10-year sentence but no mandatory minimum.
The jury acquitted Combs of the most serious charges, including racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking, following a seven-week trial.
The racketeering charge alone had carried the possibility of a life sentence.
Combs was arrested in September 2024 and has remained in custody since, with several bail requests denied. His legal team has argued for his release ahead of sentencing, which is now pending a judge's decision.
While Combs and his family celebrated the partial acquittal, prosecutors are expected to oppose bail, citing legal grounds that detention is mandatory after conviction on such federal charges.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, spoke to The U.S. Sun following the outcome.
He said: 'Today's verdict is nothing less than a complete and total failure by the prosecution in what will go down as the most expensive prostitution trial in American history.
'Even though the Mann Act carries a potential 10-year maximum sentence, Diddy is going to get time served or close to it. His sentencing guideline range may be as low as 15–21 months.'
Prosecutors acknowledged in a letter to Judge Subramanian, obtained by The U.S. Sun, that the guideline sentence may range from 51 to 63 months.
Combs has already served nine months.
The letter noted: 'The Government has not had adequate time to carefully consider all potentially applicable Guidelines provisions.'
Rahmani said the sex trafficking charges were undermined by 'evidence of consent' and added: 'The prosecution's only real chance of a victory was racketeering and to prove a non-sex related predicate act like kidnapping, arson, extortion, or bribery. They failed to lean on and flip key members of Diddy's inner circle like KK and D-ROC.'
He also noted none of the alleged sexual assault victims who have filed civil suits against Combs and who had no professional or romantic ties to him were called to testify.
New Mexico-based criminal defence attorney John W. Day also spoke to The U.S. Sun, saying: 'They presented a tsunami of evidence against Diddy over many weeks, and the jurors did not buy their story. The government was trying to convince the jury that RICO — which was designed to go after the Mafia and mob organised crime families — should be applied to baby oil and Diddy's high-flying lifestyle in the music business, and the jury just was not convinced.'
He added: 'The prosecutors believed that Cassie Ventura and Jane — the girlfriend who testified under an alias — would tell a story of victimisation that the jury would feel empathy for, but they most likely just saw these witnesses as willing participants in the glamorous world of Diddy.'
Actor Rosie O'Donnell wrote on Instagram following the verdict: 'I guess a jury just never wants to believe that a woman stays because of power and coercion — wow — they just think women stay because what? money — fame — 'they love the abuse' — what a f****** joke — this decision got me angry #cassie.'
Combs' legal team submitted a letter to Judge Subramanian outlining why he should be released from custody. They argued he is not a flight risk, has appeared at all hearings, and has behaved as a 'model inmate'.
The defence added 'reasonable conditions would ensure' he would not have the opportunity to arrange to meet with escorts.
They also wrote: 'The jury unambiguously rejected the government's allegations that Mr. Combs ran a years-long criminal enterprise or engaged in sex trafficking — the core of the government's case.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs aiming to headline Madison Square Garden for comeback concert
Sean 'Diddy' Combs is aiming to headline Madison Square Garden for a return concert after being convicted and jailed on federal charges. The rapper, 55, is currently languishing in jail awaiting his sentencing in October after his recent trial, and his lawyer Marc Agnifilo has now told CBS Mornings that the I'll Be Missing You vocalist has his sights set on the stadium as part of his rehabilitation and reconnection with fans. Mr Agnifilo told anchor Jericka Duncan: 'He's going to be back at Madison Square Garden – and I said I'll be there.' The attorney added Combs wants to 'get back with his mother, and the people who love him and miss him.' Mr Agnifilo continued: 'I think he wants to get out of jail, reestablish a loving, present relationship with all of his seven children.' Ericka asked: 'So he's talked to you about getting back into music?' Mr Agnifilo responded: 'No – honestly, he has not – OK, one thing he said… he's 'going to be back in Madison Square Garden'.' When Ericka pressed, 'Doing what?', Mr Agnifilo replied: 'I guess being on stage, you know?' He also characterised Combs as someone who 'always going to strive to do something… exceptional and probably demanding and challenging.' Combs was convicted on 2 July in New York federal court on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, though he was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges. He faces up to 20 years in prison and remains in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, with sentencing scheduled for 3 October 2025. Judge Arun Subramanian denied bail – for the fifth time – citing Combs as a flight risk and danger to the community. As speculation mounts over a possible presidential pardon for the rapper, another member of Combs's legal team, Nicole Westmoreland, has said: 'It's my understanding that we've reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon.' She added: 'Combs is a very hopeful person, and I believe that he remains hopeful.' U.S. President Donald Trump, who once had a cordial relationship with Combs, has said a pardon is more likely a 'no' given past disputes. He described Combs as 'essentially… half‑innocent,' but warned their changed relationship makes clemency difficult. Combs has been incarcerated since his arrest in September 2024, with defence motions for release – including a $50 million bond and strict travel restrictions – consistently rejected in court.
7NEWS
7 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Death row lawyer Maria DeLiberato explains why she defends killers: ‘We don't put down our animals that way'
Maria DeLiberato, an American death row lawyer, has spent nearly two decades fighting for inmates facing execution, including those convicted of the most heinous crimes. Currently representing six clients awaiting their fate, Ms DeLiberato told Lad Bible she is driven by cases like that of Clemente Aguirre-Jarquin, a Honduran immigrant who spent 14 years in prison and 10 years on death row before being acquitted through new DNA evidence. 'Clemente's case probably solidified it for me the most, in terms of how shockingly wrong we get it,' she said. Ms DeLiberato also highlights the disproportionate application of the death penalty to people of colour. Making her move from Miami to Tampa in 2006, she has lost clients along the way, including paedophile Larry Eugene Mann, who abducted and killed 10-year-old Elisa Nelson. She also defended Jerry Correll who murdered four family members. Both were executed by lethal injection. Despite this, Ms DeLiberato remains committed to defending her clients, acknowledging, 'Even if you felt like the death penalty was somehow appropriate from a pure vengeance standpoint, and I certainly get the desire for revenge, but that's all it is.' Initially opposed to the death penalty on moral and religious grounds, Ms DeLiberato's research revealed the criminal justice system's many failures. She spoke out amid a rise in US executions in 2025, with 26 so far, surpassing totals from 2024 and 2023, according to the British anti-death penalty group Reprieve. Concerning reports of botched executions, she explained that Florida's use of midazolam feels like 'they were torturing people' and raised similar concerns for drugs like etomidate. On other methods such as lethal gas and firing squads, she stated, 'we're just talking about premeditated murder and brutality.' Calling the fight for abolition 'terrifying and frustrating,' Ms DeLiberato noted that many people are reluctant to oppose the death penalty because 'it's human nature to be like 'well, the victim got worse than whatever they got'.' She also addressed difficulties, claiming lethal injection drugs are sourced via black markets, highlighting pharmaceutical companies' refusal to supply states for executions. 'Everything is so secret, so it's really difficult to know,' she said. Sharing a personal perspective, she added, 'I've been under anaesthesia and I always ask them, what are you giving me and why?' She emphasised that people don't euthanise animals using these drugs. Ms DeLiberato criticised lethal injection as the most 'dishonest' execution method—deceptively humane but often painful. Comparing it to a firing squad, she acknowledged its brutal terror despite a quicker death. Reflecting on losing a client, she recalled murderous inmate Larry Eugene Mann writing a letter to be opened after his death, in which he thanked her for her tireless defence. 'Losing him was incredibly challenging and changing, it was so sad and senseless,' she said. 'He basically wrote it saying if I'm alive, great, if I'm not, thank you for the work that you did, telling us to hang in there and stay strong for everyone on death row.' Although she works alongside other lawyers across the US, DeLiberato said there is 'a different sense of pressure and grief' when losing a client. Her ongoing commitment reflects a belief in fighting 'to the wire' against a flawed death penalty system. It comes as a Tennessee death row inmate, Byron Black, 69, cried out in pain during his execution on August 5 after the state declined to deactivate his implanted heart defibrillator, despite concerns raised about possible suffering. Black was executed by lethal injection at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution for the 1988 murders of his girlfriend, Angela Clay, and her two daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6. As the lethal drugs began flowing, Black appeared visibly distressed, multiple witnesses reported, according to the Daily Mail. He was heard sighing heavily and breathing heavily, he then repeatedly lifted his head and told his spiritual advisor, 'It's hurting so bad,' before passing away about ten minutes after the process began. She then responded: 'I'm so sorry. Just listen to my voice,' before comforting him by singing. Legal experts say this is the first documented case where an inmate was put to death with an active defibrillator still in place, raising questions about the risk of repeated electrical shocks as his heart failed.
West Australian
7 hours ago
- West Australian
Death row lawyer Maria DeLiberato explains why she defends killers: ‘We don't put down our animals that way'
Maria DeLiberato, an American death row lawyer, has spent nearly two decades fighting for inmates facing execution, including those convicted of the most heinous crimes. Currently representing six clients awaiting their fate, Ms DeLiberato told Lad Bible she is driven by cases like that of Clemente Aguirre-Jarquin, a Honduran immigrant who spent 14 years in prison and 10 years on death row before being acquitted through new DNA evidence. 'Clemente's case probably solidified it for me the most, in terms of how shockingly wrong we get it,' she said. Ms DeLiberato also highlights the disproportionate application of the death penalty to people of colour. Making her move from Miami to Tampa in 2006, she has lost clients along the way, including paedophile Larry Eugene Mann, who abducted and killed 10-year-old Elisa Nelson. She also defended Jerry Correll who murdered four family members. Both were executed by lethal injection. Despite this, Ms DeLiberato remains committed to defending her clients, acknowledging, 'Even if you felt like the death penalty was somehow appropriate from a pure vengeance standpoint, and I certainly get the desire for revenge, but that's all it is.' Initially opposed to the death penalty on moral and religious grounds, Ms DeLiberato's research revealed the criminal justice system's many failures. She spoke out amid a rise in US executions in 2025, with 26 so far, surpassing totals from 2024 and 2023, according to the British anti-death penalty group Reprieve. Concerning reports of botched executions, she explained that Florida's use of midazolam feels like 'they were torturing people' and raised similar concerns for drugs like etomidate. On other methods such as lethal gas and firing squads, she stated, 'we're just talking about premeditated murder and brutality.' Calling the fight for abolition 'terrifying and frustrating,' Ms DeLiberato noted that many people are reluctant to oppose the death penalty because 'it's human nature to be like 'well, the victim got worse than whatever they got'.' She also addressed difficulties, claiming lethal injection drugs are sourced via black markets, highlighting pharmaceutical companies' refusal to supply states for executions. 'Everything is so secret, so it's really difficult to know,' she said. Sharing a personal perspective, she added, 'I've been under anaesthesia and I always ask them, what are you giving me and why?' She emphasised that people don't euthanise animals using these drugs. Ms DeLiberato criticised lethal injection as the most 'dishonest' execution method—deceptively humane but often painful. Comparing it to a firing squad, she acknowledged its brutal terror despite a quicker death. Reflecting on losing a client, she recalled murderous inmate Larry Eugene Mann writing a letter to be opened after his death, in which he thanked her for her tireless defence. 'Losing him was incredibly challenging and changing, it was so sad and senseless,' she said. 'He basically wrote it saying if I'm alive, great, if I'm not, thank you for the work that you did, telling us to hang in there and stay strong for everyone on death row.' Although she works alongside other lawyers across the US, DeLiberato said there is 'a different sense of pressure and grief' when losing a client. Her ongoing commitment reflects a belief in fighting 'to the wire' against a flawed death penalty system. It comes as a Tennessee death row inmate, Byron Black, 69, cried out in pain during his execution on August 5 after the state declined to deactivate his implanted heart defibrillator, despite concerns raised about possible suffering. Black was executed by lethal injection at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution for the 1988 murders of his girlfriend, Angela Clay, and her two daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6. As the lethal drugs began flowing, Black appeared visibly distressed, multiple witnesses reported, according to the Daily Mail. He was heard sighing heavily and breathing heavily, he then repeatedly lifted his head and told his spiritual advisor, 'It's hurting so bad,' before passing away about ten minutes after the process began. She then responded: 'I'm so sorry. Just listen to my voice,' before comforting him by singing. Legal experts say this is the first documented case where an inmate was put to death with an active defibrillator still in place, raising questions about the risk of repeated electrical shocks as his heart failed.
