Although Eric Holder had not disputed killing Hussle, a fast-rising star whose passing shocked the music industry, his attorneys contended it was an impulsive act committed in the “heat of passion.”
On Wednesday, the perpetrator of the 2019 shooting death of Grammy-winning artist Nipsey Hussle in a Los Angeles street was sentenced to at least 60 years in prison.
Hussle was a fast-rising star whose death shocked the music industry; Eric Holder had not disputed killing him, but his attorneys contended it was an impulsive act committed in the “heat of passion.”
The violent killing of Hussle, a former gang member, in front of a clothing store he owned triggered widespread grief in his native Los Angeles and among his superstar peers, who hailed his musical talents and community activism.
Hussle, who was raised in the city’s Crenshaw neighborhood, had turned the block where he used to hustle into a retail and job-creating hub for his Marathon Clothing business. He was 33 years old when he passed away.
But he stayed connected to the gang-infested environment he was raised in.
Hussle and Holder, a 32-year-old gang member, belonged to the same “Rollin 60s” Crips subgroup.
Prior to Holder leaving the parking lot where the two were conversing, Hussle had informed Holder that there were reports that Holder had been “snitching,” according to prosecutor John McKinney during the trial.
Shortly after his return, there was a “explosion of violence” as Holder “pulled out not one but two guns and started firing.”
A recording was taken of the murder.
McKinney described the murder as “cold-blooded” and “calculated” in his concluding remarks, adding that Holder had “quite a bit of time for premeditation and deliberation.”
Holder’s counsel, however, told the jury that manslaughter should have been charged because the murder was “an act of impulse and rashness.”
His life in jail “is going to be hell for as long as it lasts,” according to Aaron Jansen, who claimed that his client, who had a mental illness, had already received death threats.
The court declared that he would advise Holder to live in a facility that can take care of his mental health requirements.
Numerous celebrities, including Stevie Wonder and Snoop Dogg, attended a memorial ceremony held in Hussle’s honor one month after his 2019 murder. Former president Barack Obama also wrote a letter that was read aloud at the service.
Obama stated, “While most people see only gangs, guns, and despair in the Crenshaw neighborhood where he grew up, Nipsey saw promise.
He noticed optimism. He observed a group of people who, in spite of their shortcomings, instructed him to never give up.
The Grammy Awards for best rap performance for “Racks in the Middle” and best rap/sung performance for “Higher” were given posthumously to Hussle, actual name Ermias Asghedom.
He received a plaque on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in August, which would have been his 37th birthday.