Tory Lanez’s fans have filed multiple petitions to appeal his conviction on three felonies related to the 2020 Megan Thee Stallion shooting.
At least three such petitions have been created on Change.org since a Los Angeles grand jury returned the guilty verdict on Friday (December 23). The most-signed petition, created on the same day Tory Lanez was taken into custody, is rapidly approaching its goal of 25,000 signatures, with over 24,600 collected at press time.
The campaign was accompanied by a protracted dispute that called into question several aspects of the trial, including the jury selection process, the charges brought against Tory and the “drunken memories” of Megan Thee Stallion and Kelsey Harris.
“Tory Lanez has been found guilty on all charges and it is a true miscarriage of justice!” wrote petitioner Yasin Touré. “The state has not proven that Lanez undoubtedly committed a crime. A 10-day court case raised legitimate doubts as prosecutors were unable to prove to us that there were no alternative explanations for the events. A circus of speculation, insufficient evidence, contradictions and drunken memories left us with little moral certainty about the truth.”
The petition questioned Megan Thee Stallion’s honesty and why she didn’t originally identify Tory Lanez as her shooter, and also referenced previous interviews in which she denied having had an intimate relationship with the Canadian singer.
Towards the end of the statement, Touré also hinted that JAY-Z had somehow influenced the jury’s decision, as Tory Lanez’s father had done.
“In this case, it’s also about branding, marketing, label heads and a music industry that pushes narratives based on who they’ve personally invested millions in. Could Jay-Z or RocNation be involved? The justice I wish for Megan is that the full truth comes out and not the scrambled truth that we are left with. Who really hurt Meg?
He continued, “Was this case brought up because of political pressure to fake black women? African Americans joined hashtags that protected no one and instead caused division between black women and black men. A trick we fall for so easily. This petition is not intended to smear or denigrate Megan Thee Stallion, but to urge our justice system to do the right thing. And an injustice to one of us is an injustice to all of us. The case against Tory Lanez just deserves a more thorough investigation.”
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In addition to Yasin Toure’s petition, a second petition created on December 24 has gathered 118 signatures at the time of writing; with a third post-judgment petition created on the same day, which had fewer than 100 supporters.
Tory Lanez was found guilty of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, possession of a concealed unregistered firearm and reckless disposal of a firearm. He now faces a maximum of 22 years in prison and deportation to his native Canada.
His hearing on the verdict has yet to be scheduled.