
Source: Jerod Harris / Getty
Tory Lanez’s fans are banding together to help appeal his conviction for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.
After the 30-year-old rapper was convicted Dec. 23, at least three petitions were launched on Change.org urging for the Los Angeles grand jury to appeal the verdict, according to HipHopDX.
One campaign titled “Appeal Tory Lanez Verdict Immediately,” has garnered over 35,000 signatures, still shy of its 50,000 goal.
The petition questions the validity of the court process against Tory Lanez
The petition, which was created by a person named Yasin Touré, argues that Lanez’s shooting trial was a “circus of speculation, insufficient evidence, inconsistencies, and drunken memories” that left many “without much moral certainty of any truth.”
Fans of the “Talk to Me” rapper are also upset with the jury, noting they were irresponsible throughout the trial. They believe that jurors were rushed to make a decision and unjustly convicted the Toronto native on all three charges. As previously reported, Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, discharging a firearm with gross negligence and having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
“If the prosecution believed their victim’s account, why was Tory not charged with attempted murder and kidnapping? Instead gave lesser charges that they were still unable to prove without doubt,” Touré wrote.
Further along in the petition, Touré went on to question why Megan Thee Stallion initially lied to police about Lanez’s shooting assault. They also alleged that Jay-Z may have influenced the jury’s swift decision, given that Meg is signed to the rapper’s Roc Nation label.
“This case is also about branding, marketing, label heads and a music industry that pushes narratives based on who they have personally invested millions into. Could Jay-Z or Roc Nation be involved??” they continued. “The justice I want for Megan is for the full truth to come out, rather than the scrambled truth we are left with. Who really hurt Meg?”
Touré added:
“Was this case taken because of a political pressure to fake protect black women? African-Americans went along with hashtags that didn’t protect anyone & instead caused division between black women and black men. A trick that we so easily fall for. This petition is not to tear down nor chastise Megan Thee Stallion, but it is about asking our justice system to do the right thing. And the injustice for one of us is an injustice for us all. Simply, the case against Tory Lanez deserves a more thorough investigation.”
Tory Lanez’s father calls for justice
Law & Crime reporter Meghann Cuniff, who attended the trial, called the courtroom a “crazy and downright scary scene” after judges delivered Tory Lanez’s guilty verdict. According to her tweet, Lanez’s father and stepmother rattled the room, screaming about “injustice.”
Outside of the courtroom, a video obtained by The Shade Room captured Lanez’s father and stepmother calling out Jay-Z and Meg’s attorneys for carrying out “the worst miscarriage of justice that this world has ever seen.”
Lanez’s sentence hearing is set for Jan. 27, 2023. The Hip-Hop star faces up to 22 years in prison and deportation to his native Canada.
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