Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine Among Prisoners Searching For Early Release Due To Coronavirus

Tekashi 6ix9ine's two-year prison sentence keeps getting shorter, and now the 23-year-old rapper is asking for an early release due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tekashi 6ix9ine, real name Daniel Hernandez, originally faced ten years in prison for charges such as racketeering, but ultimately became a government witness resulting in a sentence a fifth that length.

Now, with his release date already moved up to July 31, Hernandez is requesting to be released four months early, citing concerns around the coronavirus and his respiratory health history.

“It seems like just a matter of time before all prisons in the area are hit with this virus, both inmates and guards,” his attorney, Lance Lazzaro, argued in a legal filing, via Page Six. His reported history of bronchitis and sinusitis, writes Lazzaro, means the virus poses a particular “risk to his life.”

In the claim, filed to Manhattan federal Judge Paul Engelmayer, Lazzaro reveals that Hernandez is already sick, but does not specify if it's a suspected case of COVID-19.

“Mr. Hernandez has been complaining to prison officials this week of shortness of breath, but apparently the warden of his facility will not allow Mr. Hernandez to go to the hospital,” he wrote, adding, "While I recognize that his release date is only about four months away, given the health crisis that is currently tearing through this region and Mr. Hernandez’s compromised medical condition, please strongly consider modifying Mr. Hernandez’s sentence so as to immediately make him eligible for home confinement."

Hernandez isn't the only high-profile prisoner in this position. Over the weekend, it was reported that Harvey Weinstein had also tested positive for the virus, though his official representatives did not confirm this news. Weinstein is being held in isolation, according to a report in the Niagara Gazette.