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Rapper-turned-snitch Tekashi 6ix9ine could be released from prison as early a 5 p.m. Wednesday if the Manhattan federal court judge overseeing the rhymester’s case gets his way. In a letter Wednesday, Judge Paul Engelmayer said he wants to cut Tekashi loose from the Queens Detention Facility, a private prison run by the GEO group, because …
Rapper-turned-snitch Tekashi 6ix9ine could be released from prison as early a 5 p.m. Wednesday if the Manhattan federal court judge overseeing the rhymester’s case gets his way.
In a letter Wednesday, Judge Paul Engelmayer said he wants to cut Tekashi loose from the Queens Detention Facility, a private prison run by the GEO group, because the rapper has asthma — putting him at greater risk to die from the coronavirus bug sweeping the nation.
“The parties are advised that, provided that the Court has legal authority to grant the relief requested by defense counsel, the Court intends to do so,” Judge Engelmayer wrote to federal prosecutors, ordering the government to respond with objections by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Lawyers for Tekashi — real name Daniel Hernandez — have been trying to get him sprung since last week, but ran into a roadblock because the prison is run by a private company rather than the federal Bureau of Prisons.
“Mr. Hernandez’s administrative request to BOP for compassionate release was denied because as a non-BOP inmate, BOP is refusing to grant Mr. Hernandez compassionate release,” attorney Lance Lazzaro wrote in an appeal to Engelmayer on Tuesday.
Engelmayer denied a previous request by Tekashi to be released, in part because he believed the rapper needed to appeal to BOP, but Lazzaro argued in his letter Tuesday that Engelmayer himself — not the BOP — has purview over his compassionate release request.
“In this case, your Honor now has the statutory authority to modify Mr. Hernandez’s sentence so as to immediately release him from prison,” Lazzaro wrote.
“Mr. Hernandez submitted his administrative request for compassion release to BOP and BOP has made clear that as a non-BOP inmate, BOP will never grant Mr. Hernandez compassionate release,” he added.
The rapper — who pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges — had faced decades in prison before agreeing to cooperate with the government and testify against members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods.
He was sentenced in December to two years in prison — and is already due to get out early, with his release date now July 31.
