Rapper G. Dep granted clemency by New York governor after spending 13 years in prison for murder he admitted to by turning himself into police nearly two decades after crime
- Travell 'G. Dep' Coleman, 49, has served 13 years of his 15-year-to-life sentence
- He walked into a New York police station in 2010 and admitted to killing John Henkel, who was shot three times in the chest in 1993.
- The rapper can now be released on parole two years earlier than expected
Rapper Travell'G. Dep' Coleman, who turned himself in for a nearly two-decade-old murder case, has been pardoned by New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Coleman, now 49, has served 13 years of his 15-year-to-life sentence after walking into a New York police station in 2010.
Two years before he was eligible for parole in 2025, his sentence was commuted by the Democratic governor, who also pardoned 15 other people on Friday.
The rapper, who was convicted of killing John Henkel in 2012, can now apply for parole and walk home sooner than expected.
Governor Hochul granted twelve pardons and four commutations prior to the holiday weekend, marking the third time Hochul has granted clemency in 2023.
Rapper Travell'G. Dep' Coleman, 49, has been pardoned by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul after turning himself in in 2010 in a nearly two-decade-old murder case.
The rapper, who was convicted in 2012 of murdering John Henkel (pictured), can now apply for parole and walk home sooner than expected.
Governor Hochul granted twelve pardons and four commutations prior to the holiday weekend, marking the third time Hochul has granted clemency in 2023
“Through the clemency process, it is my solemn responsibility as governor to recognize the efforts individuals have made to improve their lives and show that redemption is possible,” Hochul said.
The rapper earned a college degree while in prison and facilitated violence prevention and sobriety counseling programs.
He also participated in several education and rehabilitation classes, according to Hochul's office.
His request for clemency was supported by the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case and the judge who sentenced him, Hochul said.
The rapper was one of the rising stars of hip-hop impresario Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Bad Boy Records label in the late 1990s.
He had hits with “Special Delivery” and “Let's Get It” and helped popularize a loose-limbed dance called the Harlem shake in the early 2000s.
But his career collapsed in late 2010, with at least a dozen arrests on drug, misdemeanor and other charges.
Attorney Anthony L. Ricco said at the time that Coleman was “haunted” by the fatal Henkel shooting in 1993 and decided to confess.
The rapper was one of the rising stars of hip-hop impresario Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Bad Boy Records label in the late 1990s.
His career collapsed in late 2010, with at least a dozen arrests on drug, misdemeanor and other charges
The rapper appeared at the police station on December 15, 2010 and admitted to killing Henkel, a father of three, outside a Harlem apartment complex around 1 a.m. on October 19, 1993.
Coleman calmly explained that he had shot someone at age 18 after demanding money on a street corner, two detectives said during a 2012 court hearing.
“He said he felt bad and it was eating him up,” Detective Dave Feliciano said.
The victim's brother, Robert Henkel, had demanded Hochul reject prosecutor David Drucker's exhortations to release Coleman, calling it a “farce.”
He told the New York Post that “it is one thing to seek (mercy) for drug crimes – but not murder.”