The man convicted of murdering rapper Nipsey Hussle was sentenced on Wednesday. Eric Holder will serve 60 years to life in prison for the crime of first-degree murder. It has been nearly four years since Hussle was killed and several months since Holder was found guilty.
Holder was found guilty of first-degree murder on July 6, 2022, but according to a report by The Associated Press the sentencing was delayed. Holder’s defense attorney Aaron Jansen hoped to get Holder’s conviction reduced to manslaughter or second-degree murder, but Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke II rejected that proposal in December. He handed down the sentence on Wednesday in proceedings that included new comments from one of Hussle’s friends and from Holder’s father.
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Holder reportedly sat still and expressionless through the proceedings, neither reacting visibly to the sentence nor making eye contact with others in the room. Hussle’s friend Herman “Cowboy” Douglas was present to speak on behalf of those mourning him, while a letter by Holder’s father was read aloud by someone else.
“Nipsey was my friend, he was like a son, he was like a dad,” Douglas said. “Our community right now, we lost everything, everything we worked for. One man’s mistake, one man’s action, messed up a whole community.” Dougless reportedly addressed the judge as he said: “I don’t care what you give this guy. It ain’t about the time. I just want to know why. The world wants to know why. Why someone would do that?”
Hussle was murdered on March 31, 2019, when he was shot at least 10 times in the parking lot of his own clothing store in Los Angeles. Holder was quickly identified as the suspect in Hussle’s murder and was indicted less than two months after the rapper’s death. However, the trial hit some legal and administrative snags as well as some delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The evidence against Holder included eye-witness testimony, surveillance footage and an apparent motive of personal and professional jealousy. Two others were wounded in the shooting. However, Jansen argued that the shooting was not pre-meditated and the confrontation was emotional and that therefore a lesser sentence such as voluntary manslaughter was more appropriate.
Jansen has said that he hopes to appeal this verdict and reduce Holder’s sentence in the future. Hussle’s family members have not attended any court proceedings and reportedly intend to hold their silence going forward. He is survived by his partner actor Lauren London and their two young children, as well as his mother.
