Diddy release

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Is it time for Diddy to go home? He and his team certainly believe so, and they’re emphasizing as much ahead of the mogul’s high-stakes October 3rd sentencing.

As most are already aware, that sentencing will address two prostitution counts; a jury found Diddy not guilty of the most serious charges against him, including sex trafficking by force.

And while the 55-year-old will presumably receive a light sentence, each of the prostitution counts technically carries a maximum of 10 years behind bars. Furthermore, despite previously pushing for release, Diddy has now been in prison for over a year.

He and his counsel underscored this and many adjacent points in a 160-page sentencing memorandum; a separate sentencing appendix, for its part, contains release-focused letters from Diddy’s mother, sister, and eldest son, besides producer Dallas Austin, a former employee, and plenty of others.

Keeping the focus on the memorandum, “it would be unlawful, and a perversion of justice, for the Court to sentence” Diddy “as if the jury had convicted him of sex trafficking and RICO, or to increase his sentence based on the Court’s own findings about force or coercion or racketeering,” according to the document.

The way Team Diddy sees things, the prosecutors “have lost all perspective” in the sentencing department, and their recommendations are “wildly out of proportion to the conduct at issue—threesomes where fully competent adult men and women voluntarily crossed state lines and had consensual sex.”

“Fairness and justice, as well as the Constitution, federal sentencing law, and common sense require a far lower sentence in this unique case. …  It is time for Mr. Combs to go home to his family, so he can continue his treatment and try to make the most of the next chapter of his extraordinary life,” Diddy’s counsel wrote.

And that “far lower sentence” refers to about 14 months – or, put differently based on the “near-13 months” Diddy’s already served, a release well before Christmas.

Unsurprisingly, the remainder of the document covers a whole lot of ground – including the challenges Diddy faced during childhood, his “‘unwavering’ commitment to his children,” the incarceration’s impact on his family, his community contributions (Diddy “is also incredibly philanthropic and cares about the community”), and more.

As for “the reason behind any assaults discussed at the trial,” Diddy’s attorneys drove home that their client’s “behavior while on painkillers was erratic and unpredictable.”

This ties back to a possible silver lining: Diddy “was addicted to various substances over the years,” including illicit drugs as well as allegedly overprescribed medication from doctors, and tested positive for at least one (redacted) substance upon being arrested, his team reiterated.

But an ongoing treatment program has rendered him “clean of any substance for the first time,” and “[s]ince tapering off Xanax, quitting alcohol, and illicit substances, his angry actions have disappeared,” per the document.

“While a draconian sentence in this case may help the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Diddy’s own attorneys summed up, “it will not help either Mr. Combs or the community which this Office purportedly serves.”