Sean “Diddy” Combs, the convicted rap mogul, has penned a four-page letter to Judge Arun Subramanian on October 2, 2025, seeking leniency ahead of his sentencing on Friday, October 3, at 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT) for two prostitution-related charges that carry a potential 20-year sentence. Found guilty in July 2025 after a high-profile trial, Combs faces at least 11 years as sought by prosecutors, while his defense pushes for release later this month.
In the letter, Combs attributes his past behavior—including a documented assault on ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura—to drug addiction, admitting he “lost my way” and was “selfish.” He expresses remorse for the “hurt and pain” caused, particularly to Ventura and another accuser, “Jane,” stating, “My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden.”
Claiming transformation after 13 months in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, Combs says he’s now sober for the first time in 25 years, teaching business classes to inmates and describing himself as a “new version” reborn in jail. He pleads for mercy for the sake of his seven children and 84-year-old mother, urging the judge to make him an example of redemption rather than punishment.
However, accusers paint a starkly different picture. Ventura, in her letter to the judge, calls Combs a “cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man” unchanged by incarceration, expressing fear of “swift retribution” if he’s freed. She and others detail his abusive wielding of influence, urging a lengthy sentence. Prosecutors echo this, arguing in a September 29 filing that Combs remains “unrepentant,” dismissing his claim of “mutually toxic relationships” as a deflection from decades of abuse.
Combs was acquitted of graver racketeering and sex trafficking charges that could have meant life imprisonment. His defense plans to present a 15-minute video and four lawyers at the hearing, though the video’s content remains undisclosed. The sentencing outcome will hinge on whether Judge Subramanian views Combs as reformed or a continued threat, amid a case that has gripped global attention
