The murderer convicted after 30 years: the storm around Tupac Shakur does not stop

Three decades after the murder of Tupac Shakur, Duane "Keffe D" Davis was convicted of first-degree murder. However, the family and fans criticize law enforcement's handling over the years, and a civil legal battle continues.

Exactly three decades after being shot dead at age 25 in Las Vegas, the case surrounding the murder of hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur reached its first legal verdict. The court recently convicted Duane "Keffe D" Davis of first-degree murder, making him the only person ever prosecuted and held criminally responsible for the rapper's death. Tupac was shot on September 7, 1996, while sitting in the car of Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight, after being hit by gunfire from a passing vehicle. He died about ten days later. Davis himself published a memoir and gave media interviews in 2008-2009, turning the spotlight on his alleged involvement as a passenger in the car from which the shots were fired. His defense attorneys argued these were exaggerated stories meant to sell books, but the jury convicted him. However, for Shakur's family, friends, and fans, this moment is bittersweet. A producer of a documentary series about the murder described the conviction as an "illusion of justice" that feels hollow. The other key individuals who were in the car from which the shots were fired—led by Davis's nephew, Orlando Anderson—have passed away. Despite the legal closure in the criminal case, the family's legal battles continue, including a civil tort lawsuit filed by Tupac's half-brother, Maurice "Mopreme" Shakur.