By Daily Review Online
Duane “Keefe D” Davis has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for the 1996 murder of legendary American rapper Tupac Shakur.
Davis was sentenced on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in a Las Vegas court, nearly 30 years after Shakur was fatally shot in a drive-by attack near the Las Vegas Strip.
He was convicted on August 31, 2026, of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. However, Davis has continued to maintain his innocence and indicated that he would appeal the conviction.
During the sentencing hearing, Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, delivered an emotional statement describing the devastating impact of the rapper’s death on their family.
She told the court that the men in the family had never been the same since his killing, comparing his legacy to those of influential historical figures such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and former United States President John F. Kennedy.
Sekyiwa questioned how history might have unfolded if those prominent figures had been killed at the age of 25, the same age at which Tupac died.
The rapper’s stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, also addressed the court, expressing sadness that Tupac never had children of his own or the opportunity to watch his nieces and nephews grow up.
Both family members urged the judge to impose the maximum possible sentence on Davis.
According to reports by TMZ, the hearing began with a tense exchange between Davis and the judge, with the defendant reportedly rolling his eyes during their interaction.
Prosecutors argued that Davis had continued to cause pain to Shakur’s family by making money from the rapper’s murder through a book and media interviews.
However, defence attorney Michael Sanft challenged the prosecution’s position, arguing that authorities could have charged Davis years earlier but had chosen not to do so.
Davis has repeatedly denied involvement in Shakur’s murder, despite previously making public statements suggesting that he played a role in the shooting.
Following his conviction in August, Davis told *The Hollywood Reporter* that he was nowhere near the scene of the crime when the rapper was attacked.
He claimed he was at a bar in West Los Angeles, near the University of California, Los Angeles, after attending a Mike Tyson boxing match, rather than in Las Vegas at the time of the shooting.
His legal team has maintained that his earlier statements about the killing were exaggerated claims intended to attract public attention and generate financial gain.
Davis is expected to challenge his conviction through an appeal.
Shakur, widely regarded as one of hip-hop’s most influential artists, was shot on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas and died six days later, aged 25. His killing remained unsolved for decades before Davis was arrested and charged in 2023.