Four years after Yusuf Bey IV ordered the murder of reporter Chauncey Bailey, there's finally some closure to the case: Bey, who was convicted on three counts of first-degree murder back in June, was sentenced in an Oakland Superior Court today to three consecutive life terms in prison.
During the sentencing, Bey maintained his innocence. In a statement, he told the court the murder case was never about "truth and justice. It has been about deception and politics," while acknowledging that victims "lost their lives senselessly" under his watch. Bey's associate, Antoine Mackey also received two life sentences for his role in the murder of Bailey and two others.
On the other side of the courtroom, Bailey's ex-wife forgave her ex-husband's murderers, telling the court, "I forgive you because the Chauncey Bailey I knew, the Chauncey Bailey who came here to right the wrongs, to tell the stories of people who had no voice, I believe that he would forgive you too."
