Sean Combs’ attorneys appealed his 50-month prostitution conviction during a federal appeals court hearing in Manhattan on Thursday.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments from Combs’ attorneys who say 50 months is too harsh for procuring male escorts for personal enjoyment.
The lawyers argued that Combs’ “freak-offs” are protected under the 1st Amendment. They said that the law’s definition of “prostitution” should apply only when a paying customer has sex with the person being paid, CNN reported.
It was determined that Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura paid the male prostitutes for their services – not Combs. Yet Ventura is walking free.
At the conclusion of the appeals hearing on Thursday, Circuit Judge William J. Nardini called it an “exceptionally difficult case.”
Combs’ lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, said the sentence was the most prison time ever given to someone convicted of the same charges who did not have a prior criminal record.
But a federal prosecutor argued that the 4-year, 2-month prison term was below what federal sentencing guidelines called for.
Combs is currently serving time at the minimum security Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dix in New Jersey.
The Bad Boy Records founder’s prison release date is April 15, 2028.
