Rapper T.I. Sentenced to 11 Months For Probation Violation

By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times

"I screwed up"

CNN.COM reported Rapper T.I. will serve 11 months for violating the terms of his federal probation in connection with his arrest last month.

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, was arrested September 1 along with wife, Temeka Cottle aka Tiny, in Los Angeles after police found Marijuana marijuana and ecstasy in their vehicle.
The Atlanta native also tested positive for opiates.

As a condition of his release earlier this year, Harris was ordered to submit to three urinalysis, in addition to participating in a drug and alcohol treatment program. He was further ordered not to commit another federal, state or local crime while on supervised release, or to illegally possess controlled substances.

Harris admitted to the court that he "screwed up," and begged for leniency, but his pleadings, and revelation that he was suffering from a drug addiction did little to sway Judge Charles Pannell Jr., who said the rapper "dumped a lot of smut on the whole experiment," referring to Harris' sentence, which Pannell said he hoped to replicate if it worked.

Attorney's for the 30-year-old rapper argued for leniency citing nearly 250 cases with similar circumstances where the defendants did not return to prison after violating the terms of their probation and the fact that Harris made an earnest attempt to turn his life around since leaving Federal prison.

Pannell added that the father of six "had the limit of second chances," before announcing his decision to revoke his probation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates expressed disappointment with Harris and reportedly urged the judge to consider sentencing him to two years in prison saying Harris submitted diluted urine samples and told his probation officer he had used ecstasy at least three times since leaving prison.

Speaking with the Associated Press after the court proceedings, she said, "We had hoped that this would be a new, innovative opportunity," she told AP. "We're not giving up on Mr. Harris, but ... if you veer off the road of redemption, there are consequences."

Harris, clad in a gray three-piece suit, exited the courtroom with family and friends after the hearing without addressing the media.

Last week, after hearing about a man threatening to jump from an Atlanta skyscraper, the rapper drove over to offer his help to police.

The man agreed to come down from the 22-story building in exchange for a few minutes with the rapper, police said. They added he recorded a cell phone video of himself that was shown to the man by rescue workers to prove he was really there. Harris denied suggestions that his intervention was an attempt to manipulate the court.

Harris, a Grammy Award-winning artist, has made quite a name for himself in the hip hop industry with multiple platinum-selling albums and singles. He has also starred in films like "Takers," "ATL" and "American Gangster."