Photo Credit Uproxx Studios
Rapper Tay-K was in court last week for murder and a list of other things in connection to his time running from the police across the country following a botched home robbery in 2016 when he was 16. As of his court appearance last week, he was facing anywhere between 5 to 99 years. It now looks like we have a more exact idea as to how much time he’s expected to spend in prison now. Two Texas state criminal defense attorneys Temani Adams and Steven Wright gave their input on what Tay-K, whose real name is Taymor McIntyre can expect in his sentencing.
“Having been found guilty of murder, Rapper Tay-K is facing up to 99 years in prison,” Adams explained. “In Texas, Tay-K can elect for the judge to choose his punishment and not the jury. It is not clear which option Tay-K chose. [If he had no] criminal history his lawyers [could have] asked for probation. [However], based on the facts of the case and his other pending charges, a sentence of probation is not likely.”
“No matter if the judge or jury assess Tay-K’s punishment, he will probably receive a sentence of about 40 years,” Adams stated. Judge Wayne Salvant is involved in this case and previously presided over the “affluenza teen case with Ethan Couch who’s now 22 who received a 720 day sentence for killing four people while drunk driving. “The judge in this case, Judge Wayne Salvant, is the same judge that presided over the famous ‘affluenza teen,’ case. Judge Salvant is very fair and reasonable, and one of the best judges in Tarrant County. If he is deciding Tay-K’s punishment, he will look at all of the facts, any special circumstances, and Tay-K’s age.”
“No matter the sentence, Tay-K still faces a long time in prison,” Adams continued. “He has pending charges for a separate murder and robbery. Any sentence that he receives for the second murder and robbery could be consecutive to, or stacked on top of, the sentence for the current murder. That means that he would have to serve his sentence for the first murder charge before he would begin to serve his sentence for the second murder and robbery. Texas does have parole, which allows for a person to be released from prison under supervision. If his sentences are stacked, it will be a long time before Tay-K will be eligible for parole or coming home,” Adams added. “If the jury is deciding his punishment, there will essentially be a second mini trial where both Tay-K and the State can bring more witnesses and evidence. The state will be able to bring up other bad acts that Tay-K has committed, and the victim’s family will be able to testify about the death of victim has affected them. Tarrant County is very conservative and family oriented. If the victim’s family is allowed to testify, Tay-K will surely be sentenced to at least 40 years in prison.”
Something else likely to work against him is the fact that the song he wrote as a confession of his crimes, The Race was entered as evidence in his sentencing. Now I feel strongly about using music against people in criminal cases because no matter what type of reflection hip hop is of reality, it’s still art and should be perceived as fantasy unless explained and articulated as anything other than that. In his case, if it helps an investigation to connect dots and it’s proven as true, that’s your fault for telling on yourself.
This teen has what appears to be a couple murders he’s facing charges with, one he was a apart of during he home invasion and the other for killing a man in a Chic-Fil-A parking lot in April 2017 along with a number of other civil suits so he’s going to have his legal team’s work cut out for them.
