Sean Combs Wants Out of Prison, Now

Lawyers say judge wrongly used acquitted charges to toughen sentence
Posted Dec 24, 2025 1:30 AM CST
Sean Combs Wants Out of Prison, Now
FILE - Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the Billboard Music Awards, May 15, 2022, in Las Vegas.   (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

Sean "Diddy" Combs isn't just fighting his prison term—he's asking a federal appeals court to wipe out his conviction or send the case back for a do-over on sentencing, NBC News reports. His lawyers on Tuesday filed an expedited appeal with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking his immediate release while the court weighs whether to overturn his interstate prostitution convictions.

Combs is serving a 50-month sentence after a New York jury found him guilty of two counts of transporting adults across state lines for prostitution. He was acquitted of more serious charges: racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. In the 84-page filing, appellate lawyer Alexandra Shapiro argues prosecutors never proved their case and that the women and others involved were adults who "willingly and enthusiastically" took part in multi-day, drug-fueled "freak-offs."

The appeal zeroes in on how US District Judge Arun Subramanian calculated the sentence. Shapiro says the judge effectively acted as a "thirteenth juror" by using conduct tied to the acquitted racketeering and sex trafficking counts to ratchet up Combs' punishment, calling the result an unlawful, "draconian" sentence roughly three times longer than appropriate for the crimes of which Combs was convicted. Combs, who was sentenced in October, was also fined $500,000 and ordered to serve five years of supervised release after prison; his projected release date is May 25, 2028.

The defense pushed for a fast-track appeal, noting Combs has already served nearly 16 months, which they say exceeds the typical term for comparable cases—even when coercion, which Combs was not convicted of, is involved, ABC News reports. Per the AP, Combs' lawyers argue his is the "highest sentence ever imposed for any remotely similar defendant." If the conviction stands, they argue, the appeals court should at least order his release and a new sentence limited to what the jury actually found him guilty of. The 2nd Circuit seldom overturns district court decisions. The government's brief is due Feb. 20, with Combs' reply set for March 13.

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