Tory Lanez, who is serving a ten-year sentence for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, continues to challenge the verdict that put him behind bars. His lawyers maintain that missteps during the trial compromised the outcome and argue that he was wrongfully convicted. At a recent hearing, attorney Crystal Morgan said the case was undermined by the way crucial evidence was presented to jurors.
Central to her argument was the handling of contested DNA evidence. Morgan accused prosecutors of mischaracterizing the findings, suggesting they unfairly pointed to Lanez’s involvement. “It is actually marginally more likely that another member of the African American population touched this gun over Mr. Peterson,” she said, using Lanez’s given name. As Billboard reported, she added that if the jury had been given a clearer explanation of those probabilities, the outcome could have been different.
Court Rulings and Setbacks
Her comments came days after a California appeals court rejected two petitions from Lanez’s defense team. The filings alleged violations of due process and claimed that evidence critical to the defense—including the firearm and bullet fragments recovered from Stallion’s foot—had been withheld.
The appellate panel sided with the prosecution, which argued that the gun remains in Los Angeles police custody and that further testing would be of little value. “Petitioner has failed to show that additional DNA testing would establish a claim of actual innocence,” prosecutors wrote. They also pointed to expert testimony from the trial: no DNA from Lanez was found on the weapon’s magazine, while the partial results from the gun itself could neither include nor exclude him as a minor contributor.
Lanez was sentenced in 2023 to ten years in prison for the shooting. He will become eligible for parole in November 2029, though if that request is denied, he could remain incarcerated until 2033. In the meantime, his legal team continues to press for openings in the appellate system, ensuring the case remains one of the most closely followed in hip-hop and beyond.
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