Convicted rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has appealed for leniency ahead of his sentencing on Friday, blaming years of drug addiction for his violent past and insisting he has turned his life around while in jail.
In a four-page letter submitted to the court on Thursday, Combs, 54, expressed remorse for his actions and asked Judge Arun Subramanian for a second chance. The plea came just hours before his sentencing hearing in New York, scheduled for 10:00 a.m. ET (15:00 GMT).
“I’m sorry for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused,” Combs wrote. “The old me died in jail and a new version of me was reborn.”
Combs was found guilty in July on two prostitution charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years. Prosecutors are seeking at least 11 years behind bars, while his defence team has urged the court to allow his release later this month.
In his letter, the music mogul acknowledged his violent history, including the assault of his former girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura. “I literally lost my mind,” he admitted. “My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will have to forever carry.”
He also apologised to another woman, identified in court as “Jane,” who testified against him, saying he had been “lost in the drugs and the excess.”
Combs insisted that he is now sober “for the first time in 25 years” and has been mentoring fellow inmates on business. He asked the judge to consider his seven children and his 84-year-old mother, who recently underwent brain surgery.
But his accusers are pressing for a lengthy sentence. In a letter to the court, Ventura said she fears retaliation if Combs is released. “He has no interest in changing or becoming better. He will always be the same cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man that he is,” she wrote.
Although Combs was acquitted in July of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking — which could have led to life imprisonment — prosecutors maintain he remains unrepentant.
“The defendant tries to recast decades of abuse as simply the function of mutually toxic relationships,” prosecutors argued in a September filing. “But there is nothing mutual about a relationship where one person holds all the power and the other ends up bloodied and bruised.”
Combs is expected to address the court directly before sentencing. His lawyers will also present a 15-minute video, though its contents have not been disclosed.
