In the four-page letter, Combs apologised “for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused” and said he has been reformed during his 13 months in a Brooklyn jail. “I lost my way,” he wrote. “My downfall was rooted in my selfishness. I have been humbled and broken to my core.”
The letter, dated Thursday, comes just hours before his sentencing hearing scheduled for 10:00 a.m. ET (15:00 GMT) on Friday.
Facing a Long Sentence
In July, Combs was found guilty on two prostitution charges. He now faces up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors are seeking at least 11 years, while his lawyers are urging the court to release him later this month.
Addressing Judge Arun Subramanian, Combs admitted to physically abusing his former girlfriend, singer Casandra Ventura, writing: “I literally lost my mind. I’m sorry for that and always will be. My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will have to forever carry.”
He also apologised to another woman, who testified under the pseudonym “Jane,” saying he became “lost in the drugs and the excess.”
Voices from the Victims
Several of Combs’ accusers have also submitted letters to the judge, warning of the risks of releasing him.
“I am so scared that if he walks free, his first actions will be swift retribution towards me and others who spoke up,” Ventura wrote. She added that she believes he deserves a lengthy sentence: “He has no interest in changing or becoming better. He will always be the same cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man that he is.”
‘A Changed Man’
In his letter, Combs described efforts to reform himself, including teaching a class to fellow inmates on how he became a successful businessman. He said he has been sober for the first time in 25 years and called his time in jail a turning point: “The old me died in jail and a new version of me was reborn.”
He asked the judge to consider his family, including his seven children and his 84-year-old mother, who recently underwent brain surgery. “I beg for mercy not only for my sake, but for the sake of my children,” he wrote.
Combs urged the court to make him “an example of what a person can do if afforded a second chance” rather than as a cautionary tale of abuse and downfall.
Prosecution Pushes Back
Prosecutors, however, argue that Combs remains unrepentant and should face a minimum of 11 years behind bars.
“The defendant tries to recast decades of abuse as simply the function of mutually toxic relationships,” they wrote in a September 29 filing. “But there is nothing mutual about a relationship where one person holds all the power and the other ends up bloodied and bruised.”
Combs is expected to make a final statement in court before Judge Subramanian hands down his sentence. His four defense lawyers are also set to speak, and the team plans to present a 15-minute video, though its contents remain unknown.
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