Today, Dr. Mutulu Shakur, a 72-year-old grandfather and respected healer and elder was granted parole by the US Parole Commission. The Parole Commission has recognized that his release poses no risk, particularly in light of his medical condition. He will be released shortly. Mutulu is one of thousands of incarcerated older people in federal and state prisons who has been repeatedly denied parole for over a decade after completing his minimum sentence.

Mutulu is deeply grateful and thankful for the broad expression of trust and support, and thanks everyone who has helped him over the years. We ask that he have space and time to be with family when he is released and to continue receiving medical treatment.

We welcome him home with great joy.

Many people have asked what they can do to support him. Family & Friends of Mutulu Shakur is continuing to collect donations that will go to support his transition to life outside prison. The only official ways to donate are listed on our Ways to Support page.

Healthwise, Dr. Shakur’s condition is changing on a weekly basis. He did gain a few pounds in early August and was able to go back on chemotherapy. However, shortly thereafter, he developed an infection in his knee and had to stop chemo in order to treat that infection. The legal team continues to monitor the care that he is receiving to advocate for him in the best possible way.

On the legal front, Judge Haight again denied the motion for compassionate release. However, unlike his 2021 denial claiming that Mutulu was not sick enough at that time to be granted compassionate release, this time he denied the motion on procedural grounds saying that the court does not have the authority to grant his compassionate release [see the Ruling]. This contention is because Dr. Shakur is an ‘Old Law’ prisoner, and, therefore, the Bureau of Prisons would need to grant compassionate release. This ‘Old Law’ status is somewhat of a legal grey area that unfortunately Dr. Shakur and other aging prisoners are caught in. The legal team is submitting a new compassionate release request to the BOP based on Haight’s decision and updated medical information. Also this week, the legal team was notified that Dr. Shakur will be scheduled for another parole hearing the week of October 10th. We anxiously await news from the BOP as we prepare for this hearing.

Please continue to keep Mutulu in your thoughts and prayers. He is conserving his energy for the rest and healing he needs, so he is for the most part not reading mail or corresponding with people. He can feel the love y’all are sending through the walls though, and he is sending it right back!

Today is Mutulu’s 72nd birthday.

The fact that he is held in prison at this stage in his life and with his current medical condition is a clear violation of his rights. His legal team is filing a habeas petition in Kentucky to challenge his continuing imprisonment in that state. This is a lawsuit against the warden at FMC Lexington, the Chair of the Parole Commission and the Hearing Examiner who conducted the latest parole hearing because denying him release is “arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion.”

Mutulu’s health continues to be dire, and Bureau of Prison doctors have given him less than six months to live. Multiple myeloma is incurable, and Mutulu was diagnosed with this in 2019. That diagnosis probably would have come sooner had it not been for bureaucratic delays in diagnostic testing of the bone pain he had been experiencing for some time. Now, despite radiation, different types of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, the cancer continues to grow. ‘Compassionate release’ or reduction of sentence exists to allow for people to spend their final days outside the confines of prison. It is inhumane that the Bureau of Prisons and the Parole Commission continue to deny him release, yet the sentencing judge Charles Haight still has the power to grant him compassionate release. We thank everyone for signing the online petition to show not only the Bureau of Prisons and the Parole Commission, but also Judge Haight, that there are over 60,000 people supporting his release.

Join us tonight to commemorate Mutulu’s 72nd birthday with a call to action for his release.

We will gather online at 7:20 PM EST for a 72-minute program to hear from those who love Mutulu and are fighting for his freedom.

Register at: https://bit.ly/mutulubdayaction