Tupac Shakur's Stepfather Mutulu Shakur Released from Prison After 37 Years Due to Health Issues

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Jim Hughes/getty

Tupac Shakur’s stepfatherMutulu Shakurhas been released on parole after spending nearly 37 years in prison, according to records from theBureau of Prisons.

The U.S. Parole Commission granted his request for parole in October — after denying two prior requests in2016and in April — in order for Shakur, who has cancer, to spend his remaining days with family.

The commission determined that Shakur’s health had “significantly deteriorated,” which they said rendered him “infirm of mind and body” and “no longer physically capable of committing any federal, state or local crime,” per theNew York Daily News.

Shakur, 72, was diagnosed with stage-3 multiple myeloma, a blood cancer which can damage the immune system, bones and kidneys, according toNBC News. Due to his health issues, he was being held at a federal medical center in Lexington, Kentucky.

Shakur was arrested in 1986 andconvicted in 1988for leading a rogue group of self-proclaimed revolutionaries through a series of robberies in New York and Connecticut, which resulted in the deaths of an armed guard and two officers. He was also previously listed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

Last year, the families of the three slain men held a memorial to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the loss of their loved ones in Nyack, New York,The Journal Newsreported.

“The pain and emotion never go away,” Michael Paige, whose father Peter Paige was killed in a robbery, said at the ceremony. “Oct. 20 is the hardest day of the year for my family. Coming here lets us know we’re not alone and the three men’s sacrifices were not in vain.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

As part of his release, Shakur was ordered not to have contact with any of the family members of those who died from the robberies or his sisterAssata Shakur, who is a fugitive from the law, according to theNew York Daily News.

source: people.com