Tupac Shakur Murder Convict Duane Davis Protests Innocence and Vows to Appeal
Duane "Keefe D" Davis, recently convicted of the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, maintains his innocence and has filed an appeal. In a jailhouse interview, Davis accused police of lying and denied writing the memoir used to convict him.
Duane "Keefe D" Davis, who was convicted this week of the murder of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur, insists he is innocent and plans to appeal. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter from the Clark County Detention Center in Nevada, Davis said his legal team had already filed an appeal after he was convicted of one count of murder with use of a deadly weapon in a 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.
"Shit, I ain't worried. I'm gonna appeal and be free," Davis said. "We already filed it before the trial even started. They violated my civil rights."
Accusations of Lies and Denial of Book Authorship
Davis launched a fierce attack on witnesses, police officers, and prosecutors, claiming they fabricated the case against him:
"Man, they lied on me so much. I don't even know where to start. All them cops in there lied like crazy. The prosecutors lied on me. I'm a good person, man. I'm not no fucking killer."
Davis also claimed he did not write the 2019 autobiography Compton Street Legend, which was heavily used against him by the prosecution in court. He asserted that he never read or reviewed the book, adding that his name was not even spelled correctly on the cover. According to Davis, co-author Yusuf Jah merely asked him to share ten life stories and provide some photographs.
When asked if he had a message for Shakur's family, Davis maintained a harsh tone, stating he had nothing to say to them. He expressed discomfort with how they looked at him in court and criticized prosecutors for repeatedly bringing the family into the back room where the grand jury was located, calling the process biased.
The Prosecution's Case and Historical Context
Shakur's family and co-author Yusuf Jah have not yet publicly responded to Davis's comments. During the trial, the prosecution argued that Davis, a former leader of the South Side Compton Crips street gang, did not fire the fatal shots himself but ordered the hit and provided the gun used by his nephew, Orlando Anderson. The shooting was described as retaliation for Shakur and his entourage beating Anderson at the MGM Grand hotel hours earlier.
Anderson, who died two years later in an unrelated shootout, was a member of a rival gang in Compton, California. The prosecution presented eight hours of audio recordings in court, spanning four different occasions over the years, in which Davis described the events in his own words and repeatedly admitted to being inside the white Cadillac from which the fatal shots were fired.
Davis's defense attorney, Michael Snepht, argued that his client fabricated the stories for personal gain, entertainment, and money. In one of the recordings played in court, Davis identified himself as the front-seat passenger in the rented Cadillac. He stated that Terrence "Bubble Up" Brown was driving, while Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson and Deandre "Dre" Smith were in the back. Davis admitted to passing a loaded gun to the back seat because he did not have a clear shooting angle from his side. Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, while returning from a Mike Tyson boxing match, and died of his wounds six days later.
