A 30-year wait for justice in Tupac’s killing ends with a murder conviction in under 3 hours

For nearly three decades, a relentless search for justice in the 1996 shooting of rap icon Tupac Shakur culminated in a swift and surprising verdict. On Monday, a jury of 12 residents from Clark County, Nevada, delivered a first-degree murder conviction to Duane "Keffe D" Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips. The trial lasted less than three hours, a fraction of the time taken for closing statements.

As the verdict was read aloud, Shakur's family members were visibly emotional, with his sister Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur weeping quietly. Davis, 63, was convicted despite the absence of direct evidence linking him to the crime. The prosecution presented circumstantial evidence, including Davis' own statements to police and a 2019 memoir, where he claimed to have been in Las Vegas with the shooter.

Davis' defense argued that he was a liar motivated by fame and financial gain, and that he may not have been in Nevada when Shakur was killed. However, the jury found Davis guilty unanimously, making him the first and only person to be held legally responsible for Shakur's killing. Davis, who was released without bail, is set to be sentenced on October 13, and could potentially spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.