Jackson, CA – Keak Da Sneak is expected to begin a 16-month prison sentence on Thursday (February 7) for a non-violent offense. The Bay Area rap legend, who is confined to a wheelchair after being shot in 2017, requires around-the-clock care, which his wife Dee Bowens fears he won’t receive behind bars.
Bowens is currently Keak’s full-time caregiver, but he also requires specialized care from nurses. Bowens has launched a Change.org petition to ask California Governor Gavin Newsom and State Representative Tom McClintock to allow Keak to serve his time under house arrest rather than in prison.
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Keak shared the petition on Tuesday (February 5) via Twitter.
“This issue is bigger than me,” Keak says in the petition. “Our penitentiary system lacks any compassion for those with disabilities and it is not equipped to handle our care. I’m lucky to have people in my corner that are making this an issue. Other people aren’t so lucky, who’s looking out for them?”
GM 37K signatures ?????????? https://t.co/QcPBBajAuZ
— Keak Da Sneak (@KeakDaSneak) February 5, 2019
Bowens adds, “Prison is dangerous, he cannot defend himself and has already been the victim of two shootings. There’s really no reason for a disabled, non-violent offender to have to do his time in jail.”
At the time of publication, Keak’s petition has received over 37,000 signatures.
“Last year the movement to save Meek Mill garnered over 425,000 signatures,” Director of Change.org Michael Jones says. “Keak’s petition is at over 35,000 in less than a week. The hip hop community’s outcry is forcing officials to really take a closer look at how our criminal justice system works.”
On January 28, Keak attended a hearing and learned he will begin serving his 16-month sentence for one count of possession of a firearm as a felon on February 7.
[This article has been updated. The original version was posted on January 28, 2019 and can be found below.]
Keak Da Sneak nearly lost his life in January 2017 after several men attempted to rob him in Oakland. After the altercation, the assailants started firing their guns. The Bay Area staple was sitting passenger side and came extremely close to getting killed. Following the incident, he decided to get a gun despite being a convicted felon.
But according to KQED, he’s been the target of multiple violent attacks and felt he had to have a way to defend himself. On Monday (January 28), Keak attended a hearing and learned he will begin serving his 16-month sentence for one count of possession of a firearm as a felon on February 7.
Keak was originally supposed to start his sentence following the hearing, but Amador County Superior Court Judge J.S. Hermanson gave him additional time to complete a medical procedure.
? @isawdray They call me a Legend but I’m just BLESSED ?? #allnfallndoe
A post shared by Keak da Sneak (@officialkeakdasneak) on Apr 24, 2018 at 2:54pm PDT
In March 2017, Keak was caught with the weapon while coming home from a night of gambling at a casino in Amador County, a rural area east of Sacramento. The latest census report says the population is 89 percent white.
“It was really racial profiling at an all-time high,” he said.
A police officer ran his license plate at a gas station and discovered he was on probation because of a prior firearm charge. That’s when the officer decided to search his car where he discovered the gun.
Consequently, the Amador County district attorney charged Keak with possession of a firearm as a felon, possession of ammunition as a felon, receiving stolen property, driving with a suspended or revoked license and possession of a controlled substance.
A post shared by Keak da Sneak (@officialkeakdasneak) on Jul 13, 2018 at 7:55am PDT
Shortly after the criminal case began, Keak was involved in another shooting in August 2017 outside of a Richmond gas station. Much like the shooting in Oakland, he was the victim of another attempted robbery.
“The first bullet busted the window and hit me in the face, grazed my face,” he said. “It made me put my arms up and guard my head, so I got shot all in my side, abdomen, my elbows, my sides. When the gunfire stopped, I couldn’t feel my legs.”
Keak woke up two days later at Oakland’s Highland Hospital. He now has to use a wheelchair full-time, see a nurse three times a week and use a colostomy bag. Although he put up a legal battle for two years, prosecutors refused to consider house arrest as a part of his plea bargain.
“It feels like they had no compassion,” he said. “My health is not good. I know they’re not gonna give me the treatment I need in prison. I’ve been to jail before, and once you get behind these walls, they have no compassion. You have to be on your dying bed for them to give you some assistance.
“Am I gonna get the treatment I’m getting out here? I don’t think so. I’ve been to jail with people who were sick and really doing bad, and the guards and deputies didn’t care about them at all. They came and beat on them because they were pushing the button like, ‘I need help, I need help.’”
Hyphy New Year?@theshepire God put her back in my life ?? My Wife #thesneaks #15years
A post shared by Keak da Sneak (@officialkeakdasneak) on Jan 1, 2019 at 12:23am PST
During Keak’s time behind bars, he hopes to be able to take care of his kids with his music.
“It got me doing a lot of recording right now, so while I’m gone I can be dropping music to take care of my family,” he said. “I have a lot of people in my corner, on my side. They feel like it’s biased, the way they’re treating me. If I was another race, they wouldn’t be doing me like this.”
Keak is expected to be released sometime around June 2020.
Article source: https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.50094/title.keak-da-sneak-to-begin-16-month-prison-sentence-despite-wheelchair-confinement
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