After 21 years behind bars, No Limit rapper McKinley “Mac” Phipps Jr. was granted parole by the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole.
WDSU reports that Phipps was granted parole on Tuesday, although his exact release date has yet to be announced. “Today marks the end of a long fight for justice,” said his wife, Angelique Phipps. “Today we are looking towards a brighter future for our family. We are grateful to all of those who have never wavered in their support of Mac’s innocence.”
The board members voted unanimously in favor of granting him parole.
Phipps, who is known to hip-hop fans as Mac, served 21 years of his 30-year sentence for the murder of a teen fan he says he did not commit. At the time of his arrest, he was 22, and he has maintained his innocence throughout the years. In addition to Mac’s own claims of innocence, a security guard confessed to the shooting in a videotaped police statement.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards granted Mac clemency in April, with his wife Angelique explaining at the time that they were “nearing the finish line in a long fought battle in securing McKinley’s freedom.” In a letter addressed to Phipps in March, Bel Edwards wrote, “I congratulate you on your efforts to turn your life around and remind you that it is up to you to make the most out of this opportunity.”
