Source: Courtesy of Angelique Phipps / Courtesy of Angelique Phipps
Former No Limit soldier McKinley “Mac” Phipps” Jr. is a free man again.
Noted for good conduct, expanding his vocational training and mentoring other inmates, the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee granted parole to Phipps on Tuesday (June 22), ending a more than 20-year-old saga involving the legal system, an unjust conviction and more.
RELATED: Louisiana Parole Board Votes For Ex-No Limit Soldier Mac To Receive Clemency After 21 Years
RELATED: Tank Dog Salute! Check Out Some Dude’s No Limit Records Playlist [Listen]
Phipps served two decades behind bars on a manslaughter charge for the killing of 19-year-old Barron Victor Jr. According to Nola.com, Victor was shot when a fight erupted outside of a club where Phipps was set to perform. The rapper was 22-years-old at the time, and now, some twenty years later, he will get another opportunity at freedom.
Phipps vehemently denied the allegations throughout the 2001 trial and during his long bid in prison. For his family, today represents a victory following years of waiting.
“Today marks the end of a long fight for justice,” Mac’s wife told WDSU6. “Today we are looking towards a brighter future for our family. We are grateful to all of those who have never wavered in their support of Mac’s innocence.”
In 2016, HuffPost shared a leaked confession tape, which seemed to prove Phipps was not the alleged shooter. On the tape, a security guard working at the venue where Victor Jr. was murdered admitting to pulling the trigger. Despite the revelation, which came to light nearly 15 years after Phipps was convicted, the guard still was not charged.
A year earlier, rapper Killer Mike spoke on the case, noting that rap lyrics have been used to convict Phipps despite a lack of hard evidence identifying him as the shooter.
“No physical evidence connecting Phipps to the crime … multiple eyewitnesses [identified] a different shooter.” Mike told Vox in 2015. “The prosecutor went after Phipps’ art, relying on a tactic that dates back to the Jim Crow South: he punished black speech.”
Phipps replied to the parole board by thanking them and offered condolences to the victim’s family.
“I want to say thank you for this opportunity,” he said. “I definitely want to say I’m sorry to the family of the victim and to just anyone who was affected by this.”
Get Breaking News & Exclusive Contest in Your Inbox:
Former No Limit Rapper Mac Paroled After 20 Years In Prison was originally published on zhiphopcleveland.com
