Activists are calling for the release of Tupac Shakur’s stepfather, Mutulu Shakur, from a prison sentence since he is battling a rare form of blood cancer that doctors say is incurable. Shakur has been incarcerated for more than 35 years. He is now 71 and suffering from stage-3 multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that can destroy the bones and kidneys.

As per Shakur’s official website:

Dr. Shakur received his ninth parole denial in January 2021. After being diagnosed with life-threatening bone cancer yet denied compassionate release, his lawsuit against the US Parole Commission and the Bureau of Prisons for unjust denials was expedited. We need your support as we pursue all avenues to improve Dr. Shakur’s fate! Dr. Shakur has been a federal prisoner since 1986. He has taken full responsibility for his actions, served as a force for good and anti-violence throughout his decades of incarceration, is an elder and has multiple health complications, has a loving family that needs him, and upon release will continue to inspire people to seek self-improvement through peaceful and constructive means, as he has done while incarcerated.

Shakur is currently serving a 60-year sentence as a result of a 1988 conviction for conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The charges consist of bank robbery murder, armed bank robbery and bank robbery. Shakur was convicted of commanding a group of revolutionaries in a string of armed robberies in Connecticut and New York.

One of the robberies left three people dead. He was also convicted of aiding Assata Shakur, born JoAnne Chesimard, in her escape from a New Jersey prison in 1979. Shakur was diagnosed with myeloma in 2019, his attorney Brad Thomson said.

His legal team asked for his “compassionate release” in 2020. However, U.S. District Judge Charles Haight Jr. denied Shakur’s request that same year, saying that his crimes were too serious. Haight also asserted that his health had not deteriorated enough for a release. Thomson says Shakur has just six months to live, as his cancer treatment stopped working.