Though 6ix9ine is mere months away from being a free man, the rapper is looking to get out even sooner. In a letter obtained by Billboard, 6ix9ine’s lawyer Lance Lazzaro states to Judge Engelmayer that his client is at high-risk for not only catching the coronavirus but also dying from it.
On Sunday (March 22), Lazzaro argued in a legal filing that 6ix9ine should be moved to home containment because he’s suffering from “shortness of breath.” He apparently also has a history of asthma, bronchitis, and sinusitis. “It seems like just a matter of time before all prisons in the area are hit with this virus, both inmates and guards,” says Lazzaro.
Lazzaro also revealed that the facility’s warden refused his client’s pleas of needing to go to the hospital. “Mr. Hernandez has been complaining to prison officials this week of shortness of breath, but apparently, the warden of his facility will not allow Mr. Hernandez to go to the hospital,” says Lazzaro.
Last December, 6ix9ine was sentenced to two years for his participation in a New York street gang but was granted an early release date of July 31.
“While I recognize that his release date is only about four months away, given the health crisis that is currently tearing through this region and Mr. Hernandez’s compromised medical condition, please strongly consider modifying Mr. Hernandez’s sentence so as to immediately make him eligible for home confinement,” Lazzaro tells the judge.
He adds: “Given that Mr. Hernandez is at very high risk of death or serious complications if he contracts the coronavirus, please issue an order modifying his sentence to allow him to begin home confinement immediately.”
Billboard reached out to 6ix9ine’s reps and Lazarro for comment.
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