Mutulu Shakur Set To Be Released From Federal Prison This Month

Mutulu Shakur, rapper Tupac Shakur’s stepfather, will be released this month after 36 years in federal prison.

The Black liberation activist may have only months to live due to cancer, but was repeatedly denied medical parole — a judge claimed he wasn’t close enough to death.

Mutulu was convicted of racketeering conspiracy in 1988 and sentenced to 60 years for a series of robberies and helping Black Liberation Army leader Assata Shakur escape prison.

He was eligible for parole in 2016 but was denied 9 times — including after his cancer diagnosis.

Mutulu Shakur was diagnosed in 2019 with multiple myeloma, rare cancer.

He has reportedly lost 25% of his weight, been confined to a wheelchair, experienced mental degradation, relied on feeding tubes, and had COVID-19 twice.

Mutulu is among ~200 people in federal prison ineligible for typical release.

That’s because their alleged crimes were committed before 1987 when federal parole laws changed.

These “old law” prisoners can only seek release from a parole commission that was set to be abolished.

Mutulu Shakur was initially targeted by an FBI program called COINTELRPO, which from 1956-1971 had a stated goal to “neutralize” Black rights movements and civil rights leaders.

Targets of COINTELPRO and other FBI surveillance included the Black Panther Party, Malcolm X, and MLK. COINTELPRO was disbanded in the 1970s.

But reforms to limit FBI abuses were reversed by the Bush admin after 9/11 — allowing surveillance of innocent people (called “assessments”). These have been widely used to target Black activists since the 2014 police killing of Mike Brown.

About The Author

Quincy Thomas

See author's posts