Davis, 63, was sentenced on Tuesday following his conviction for first-degree murder in August, marking a significant development in a case that remained unresolved for nearly three decades.
Shakur, one of hip-hop’s most influential figures, was 25 when he was shot in a drive-by attack on 7 September 1996. He was travelling in a car driven by Marion “Suge” Knight, then head of Death Row Records, when gunfire erupted. The rapper died in hospital six days later.
At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Shakur’s younger sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, delivered an emotional statement about her brother’s life, ambitions and the loss suffered by their family.
She recalled how their mother had raised Shakur to become a human rights activist and instilled in him the belief that he could change the world.
“He believed her,” Sekyiwa said. “He went out in the world to do that. And I believe he would have done it.”
Addressing Davis, Judge Carli Kierny said his claims of personal change since the 1990s did not diminish the consequences of his actions.
“You don’t get to take a man from his family,” the judge said, referring to Shakur. “The world never forgot about him.”
Davis has indicated that he intends to appeal his conviction.
Prosecutors argued that Shakur’s murder was orchestrated in retaliation for a confrontation at the MGM Grand casino on the Las Vegas Strip earlier on the night of the shooting.
The altercation involved Shakur and members of his entourage on one side and Davis’ nephew, who was associated with the South Side Compton Crips gang, on the other.
Davis described himself as a leader of the South Side Compton Crips, while Shakur, Knight and their associates were linked to the Mob Piru gang, which had connections to Death Row Records.
Members of the groups were in Las Vegas for a heavyweight boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon.
Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Davis subsequently gathered his nephew and two other associates in a white Cadillac and went looking for Shakur and Knight.
Davis had previously told investigators in an unrelated case that he passed a firearm to two men in the back of the vehicle. One of them opened fire when the Cadillac pulled alongside the car carrying Shakur and Knight.
Shakur was struck four times, while Knight suffered a minor injury from a bullet fragment that grazed his head.
Although prosecutors secured Davis’ conviction for orchestrating the killing, they did not establish the identity of the person who fired the fatal shots.
Under Nevada law, a person can be convicted of murder for participating in or facilitating a killing without personally pulling the trigger.
The three other men who were in the Cadillac that night have since died.
Prosecutors relied substantially on Davis’ own accounts of the shooting, including statements made during media appearances, details contained in his memoir, Compton Street Legend, and recordings of his meetings with investigators.
Authorities had suspected Davis’ involvement for years but maintained that they lacked sufficient evidence to charge him until he made public statements about the killing.
He was arrested in 2023, nearly 27 years after Shakur’s death, and subsequently faced prosecution over his alleged role in the murder.
The case attracted renewed attention because of the rapper’s enduring influence and the circumstances surrounding his death.
Shakur’s killing became one of the most prominent unsolved murder cases in the United States and contributed to public scrutiny of violence associated with 1990s hip-hop culture.
His death was also closely linked to the bitter East Coast-West Coast rivalry that shaped the American rap scene during the period.
Widely regarded as one of the genre’s most influential artists, Shakur used his music to explore poverty, racism, violence and social inequality, earning a lasting place in hip-hop history.
Davis also wrote in his memoir that he had been considered a suspect in the murders of Shakur and Christopher Wallace, popularly known as The Notorious B.I.G., another prominent rapper who was killed in Los Angeles in 1997. Wallace’s murder remains unsolved.
Knight, who was driving Shakur when the shooting occurred, is serving a 28-year prison sentence for an unrelated voluntary manslaughter conviction.
Davis’ sentencing represents a major legal milestone in the decades-long investigation into Shakur’s death, although the identity of the gunman has not been established through the prosecution.
