Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Begs Judge for Mercy in Emotional Letter Ahead of Sentencing

Convicted rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is making an extraordinary plea for leniency ahead of his sentencing Friday, penning a four-page letter to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in which he apologizes for past violence, blames his downfall on drug addiction, and vows to live a reformed life.

The letter, filed just hours before the hearing, marks the first time Sean Diddy Combs has directly addressed the court since his trial. In July, the 55-year-old was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act, carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Prosecutors are seeking at least 11 years behind bars, while Combs’ legal team has asked for a release later this month after 13 months already served.

Sean Diddy Combs, a Reformed Man?

In the letter, Sean Diddy Combs apologizes to his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura for the 2016 assault captured on hotel CCTV and played repeatedly during his trial. “I literally lost my mind. I was dead wrong for putting my hands on the woman I loved,” he wrote. “My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will forever carry.” He also apologized to another accuser, known as “Jane,” saying he became “lost in the drugs and the excess” and acknowledging that his downfall was rooted in selfishness.

Sean Diddy Combs describes his time in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center as transformative, saying he is sober for the first time in 25 years and has been “humbled and broken to my core.” “The old me died in jail and a new version of me was reborn,” he wrote, adding that he now teaches fellow inmates about business and accountability.

Sean Diddy Combs’ Letter to the Judge: Read Full Here 

The hip-hop mogul also asked Judge Subramanian to consider his seven children and his 84-year-old mother, who recently underwent brain surgery. “More than anything, I just want the opportunity to return home and be the father they need and deserve,” he wrote. “I humbly ask you for another chance — to be a better father, a better son, a better leader in my community.”

Victims feel otherwise

But accusers, including Cassie Ventura, submitted their own letters warning the court not to be lenient. “He will always be the same cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man that he is,” Ventura wrote, adding she fears “swift retribution” if Combs is freed.

Prosecutors have called Sean Diddy Combs “unrepentant” in a September 29 filing, writing: “There is nothing mutual about a relationship where one person holds all the power and the other ends up bloodied and bruised.”

Diddy’s Day in Court: Sentencing Set for October 3 as Music Mogul Faces Prison Time

Sean Diddy Combs is expected to speak incourt before the judge issues his sentence. His defense team also plans to show a 15-minute video highlighting his efforts at rehabilitation. Friday’s hearing could decide whether one of hip-hop’s biggest names gets a second chance — or more years behind bars.