An Up-and-Coming Rapper was Given a Longer Prison Sentence Because He Bragged About Shootings on Facebook

Source: Facebook

Social media has become a key tool for authorities

A 20-year-old up-and-coming rapper from Dallas was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to distributing cocaine in February. The rapper, named Nykees Earl Campbell, was initially facing only six years in prison. 

So what happened? 

The judge on the case, U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn, said she decided to enhance the sentence because of a series of YouTube and Facebook videos.

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Campbell, who went by the name NaNa or Ny-Nizzle, and who was allegedly a member of the YNB Stretch Gang, made numerous videos on YouTube and Facebook where he ranted about various crimes. According to prosecutors, his words aligned with actual crimes that were committed, including a robbery where a man was shot eight times while he was in bed.

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Campbell hasn't been charged for that crime, specifically, but Lynn used footage like that to justify the harsh sentence after Assistant U.S. AttorneyRick Calvert asked the judge to give the up-and-coming rapper an enhanced sentence. (Many of those videos were played during Campbell's sentencing, which occurred on Wednesday, July 18th.) Campbell also allegedly threatened singer Chris Brown, telling him he couldn't come to Dallas. (Specifics about their issues weren't released.)

During the sentencing, Lynn said "You're bragging about shooting a person...It's violence times 10 at every phase." She also added: "I'm not punishing you for making rap videos,"

Campbell's lawyer, Dianne Jones McVay, disputes this, saying that prosecutors are trying to stick unsolved murders on Campbell.

McVay said:

My client is guilty of rapping...They can't prove their murders ... but they want to blame my client for all of them.

During his sentencing, Campbell also had time to speak, saying:

I was really just caught up in that...I’m not saying it’s right.

Source: Dallas News