Michael Sanft, Defense Lawyer in Tupac Murder Case, Found Dead at His Las Vegas Home at 55
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Las Vegas attorney Michael Sanft was found dead at his home on the morning of November 6. He was 55. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sanft's friend Michael Sloan confirmed the news; police said the death does not appear suspicious at this time, with the cause and manner of death pending the coroner's findings.
Sanft had served as defense counsel for Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1996 shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur and was sentenced on October 13 to 40 years to life in prison. Sanft filed a notice of appeal of the conviction on October 30, just a week before his death. A prosecutor in the Davis case publicly praised Sanft on November 6 despite the two having been on opposing sides at trial.
Tupac Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas in 1996, and the Davis case brought the first conviction in the case decades later. Sanft's death comes just as the appeal process has begun; arrangements for successor counsel have yet to be announced.
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Las Vegas 联邦法院大楼。Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Photo: The federal courthouse in Las Vegas. Via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
