A Northern Georgia District judge has dropped the gavel on T.I. for his felony weapons charges Friday, March 27, sentencing the Grammy-winning rapper to a year and a day in prison.
- Mar 28, 2009
AceShowbiz - T.I. has joined a number of celebrities who gets imprisonment sentence. On Friday, March 27, the Grammy-winning rapper was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Charles Pannell to a year and a day in prison for felony weapons charges stemming from his October 2007 arrest. He is expected to voluntarily report to prison within the next six to eight weeks, but not before May 19 due to his agreed-upon commitments.
Before his sentencing was officially announced, the rapper who was wearing a charcoal-gray suit, black dress shirt and matching tie, delivered a 10-minute speech. "Today I would like to say thank you to some, and apologize to all," he said. He also shared about several of his personal contradictions, including the death of his best friend, Philant Johnson and how it affected him. "This has been the most insightful moment in my life," he concluded. "I've taken the great lesson from it and I will use it in my life. With that, I bid you adieu."
T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, originally faced up to 20 years in prison. However, due to his plea deal in which he was required to about 1,000 hours of community service, the prosecutors reduced his sentence. Under the plea deal, the rapper must submit to a number of rigorous requirements after his release from prison, including being under home confinement after his release and not being able to own firearms.
In his effort to make amends for his attempt to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers, T.I. will warn youths about the pitfalls of guns, drugs and violence, as well as discuss how he feels about his upcoming jail time on "T.I.'s Road to Redemption: The Reckoning", which will be aired Tuesday at 9 P.M. ET on MTV.
T.I. was arrested in an Atlanta parking lot hours before the BET Awards back on October 13, 2007. He was charged with possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, unlawful possession of machine guns and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Though pleading not guilty in the beginning, he finally pleaded guilty on Thursday, March 27, 2008.
