Drake pushes for Tory Lanez to be pardoned after prison attack

Rapper Drake has shared a petition asking California's governor to pardon fellow Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, who was attacked last week in prison.

"Come home soon," Drake wrote on his Instagram story with a link to the petition.

Lanez was stabbed 14 times by a fellow inmate in a California prison last week, an attack that caused both of his lungs to collapse. He was rushed to a hospital and is expected to recover.

Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, is serving a 10-year prison sentence for shooting another musician, Megan Thee Stallion, in 2020.

The prison attack happened around 07:20 local time (15:20 GMT) on 12 May, said Pedro Calderón Michel of the state's corrections department.

Staff began first aid before Lanez, 32, was taken to a local medical facility for further treatment, he said.

A post on Lanez's Instagram said he was stabbed in the back, torso, head and face and had to be temporarily placed on a breathing apparatus. He is now able to breathe on his own.

"Despite being in pain, he is talking normally, in good spirits, and deeply thankful to God that he is pulling through," the post said.

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The prisoner suspected of the attack, Santino Casio, 41, is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder and other violent offences, officials told the BBC. They said he has been placed in "restricted housing" pending an investigation.

Casio arrived at the Tehachapi institution in February 2004, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and has received additional sentences for assaulting a fellow prisoner in 2008 and for possessing a deadly weapon in 2018.

Lanez was convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, as they were leaving a 2020 pool party at reality star Kylie Jenner's Hollywood mansion.

The case divided the hip-hop world, with rappers - including 50 Cent and Iggy Azalea - appearing to take sides in the conflict and some asking the court for leniency at Lanez's sentencing.

Drake's song Circo Loco, a collaboration with 21 Savage, appeared to reference the case and imply that Megan lied about being shot.

Megan, in turn, accused Drake of making jokes about assaulting a woman.

The petition shared by Drake now has about 270,000 signatures calling on Gov Gavin Newsom to grant Lanez a "full pardon". The Change.org petition, created by the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety, also points to arguments questioning both evidence and witness accounts in the case.

Newsom has not commented on the request.

Lanez had seven US top 10 albums in the seven years before his conviction. He has teased the release of a new album from prison titled Peterson.