Mutulu Shakur, stepfather of Tupac, returns home after 36 years behind bars

Lexington, Kentucky - Mutulu Shakur, a freedom fighter with the Black Liberation Army and Republic of New Afrika, has been released from prison after more than 35 years behind bars.

Black freedom fighter Dr. Mutulu Shakur has been released from prison on parole after more than 35 years behind bars.
Black freedom fighter Dr. Mutulu Shakur has been released from prison on parole after more than 35 years behind bars.  © Screenshot/Instagram/freedrmshakur

On Friday, supporters of Mutulu Shakur, stepfather to the late rapper Tupac Shakur, announced he had been released from a federal medical center in Lexington, Kentucky, and was back home in time to spend the holidays with his family in Southern California.

Now 72 years old, Shakur was given just months to live in late May after being diagnosed with terminal bone marrow cancer.

After receiving this grave medical news, Shakur was nonetheless denied compassionate release in June. The parole commission finally granted a motion for his release in October, allowing him to live out his final days surrounded by family and friends.

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Shakur was arrested in 1986 on charges of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, bank robbery, armed bank robbery, and bank robbery murder.

The Baltimore-born activist was accused of leading revolutionaries in a series of armed robberies in Connecticut and New York. During one of the robberies, three people died, though Shakur's supporters say there is no evidence he killed anyone. He was also convicted of aiding fellow Black Liberation Army activist Assata Shakur in her 1979 escape from a New Jersey prison.

Before his arrest, Shakur was a well-known acupuncturist who advocated for holistic healing practices to address drug addiction and rehabilitation.

Shakur was widely recognized to have had an impeccable record while incarcerated. Despite that, it took a years-long fight and a terminal cancer diagnosis to secure his freedom in what may be his final days.

Cover photo: Screenshot/Instagram/freedrmshakur

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