Tupac Murder Verdict Causes Rev. Jesse Jackson's Son to Recall Night He Saw Rapper in 'Pretty Bad Shape' and Clinging to Life

Rep. Jonathan Jackson, the son of Rev. Jesse Jackson, reflected on the night he saw Tupac Shakur fighting for his life after the rapper's murder finally reached a verdict nearly three decades later.

Duane "Keffe D" Davis was found guilty of first-degree murder in Tupac's 1996 killing on Monday, August 31.

The Illinois congressman said he was with his famous father at the Mike Tyson fight on the night Tupac was shot.

The father and son later went to the hospital, where Jonathan saw the rapper in "pretty bad shape."

"I've prayed for this day," Jonathan said of Duane's conviction, per TMZ.

While Jonathan welcomed the verdict, he also questioned why it took so long for Tupac's case to reach this point.

Jonathan pointed to statements Duane had made publicly over the years, arguing investigators had opportunities to make progress in the case much earlier. He suggested that stronger police work and greater attention to witnesses could have changed the course of the investigation decades ago.

Jonathan also highlighted other high-profile cases involving Black men, including the murders of The Notorious B.I.G. and Nolan Wells.

He argued that young Black men who become victims of violent crimes do not always receive the "full weight of justice."

Duane could spend the rest of his life in prison following the guilty verdict. He did not testify during the trial, and his attorneys have indicated they plan to challenge the conviction.

Prosecutors played a 2008 LAPD interview for jurors in which Duane described the night Tupac was shot.

He said he was in a car with Orlando Anderson, Terrence Brown and Deandrae "Big Dre" Smith.

"If it had been on my side, I was going to blast," Duane said in the recording. "I saw a bullet go into Suge's [Knight] head. I thought he was dead."

Duane later addressed his public statements about the case, expressing regret over claims he made in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend.

"I hate [that] I put my family in jeopardy like this," he previously stated. "I said, that's... that’s one regret I have for my... my kids, my wife, my wife's kids."

During the trial, his lawyers claimed the book was only for entertainment and not factual.

In 2023, police raided a home connected to Duane and seized evidence related to the investigation. He was arrested and indicted that September before pleading not guilty.

Duane doubled down on his denial before the trial, telling 8 News Now, "I wasn't in Nevada, period."