Decided by the NYC judge yesterday April 2, 2020, rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine has been granted immediate early prison release, shortening his time in prison with scheduled release in August 2020.

The decision took Tekashi’s condition of the airways into consideration, which makes him particularly susceptible to contracting the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The rapper will serve the remainder of his sentence in house arrest (2 years) with his mother and other extended family members, after being freed from Queens prison. He was originally sentenced to serve two years on charges of racketeering and firearms.

New York City Judge Engelmayer wrote in a press statement: “The COVID-19 pandemic is extraordinary and unprecedented in modern times in this nation. It presents a clear and present danger to free society for reasons that need no elaboration. COVID-19 presents a heightened risk for incarcerated defendants like Mr. Hernandez with respiratory ailments such as asthma. The Centers for Disease Control warns that persons with asthma are at high risk of serious illness if they contract the disease. Further, the crowded nature of municipal jails such as the facility in which Mr. Hernandez is housed present an outsize risk that the COVID-19 contagion, once it gains entry, will spread. And, realistically, a high-risk inmate who contracts the virus while in prison will face challenges in caring for himself.”