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Mutulu Shakur, the stepfather of late rapper Tupac Shakur, is officially back home with his family after spending over 35 years in prison.
According to People, Mutulu, 72, was recently released after the U.S. Parole Commission signed off on his request for parole in October due to his declining health. He was diagnosed with stage-3 cancer, which the commission determined had "significantly deteriorated" his health and made him "infirm of mind and body" and "no longer physically capable of committing any federal, state or local crime."
The commission had previously denied his request for parole in April of this year and in 2016.
In a statement following his release, the Shakur family confirmed the 72-year-old was released and back home with his loved ones.
"Mutulu is now with his family. This victory was secured by the steadfast support of his legal team, his family, and his community comprised of all of you. … We ask that everyone respect Dr. Shakur's privacy while he spends the holidays with his family and concentrates on his health and healing," the statement reads.
Mutulu was arrested in 1986 after allegedly leading a group through a series of robberies in New York and Connecticut, which left three people dead. He was ordered not to contact the families of those who died in the robberies as a condition of his release, according to the New York Daily News.
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