Santino Casio, a life-sentenced inmate at the California Correctional Institution, has claimed responsibility for the violent stabbing of Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, but insists the attack was an act of self-defense.
Casio, speaking from prison in a recorded phone call that has since been circulated among legal and media circles, admitted to stabbing Lanez 14 times earlier this month.
Despite the severity of the assault, Casio maintained that he acted out of fear, alleging that Lanez had put a bounty on his head — a rumor that had reportedly been circulating among inmates.
I heard it more than once — that he wanted me gone and was willing to pay for it,” Casio said in the call. “I couldn’t ignore it. I thought he was coming for me first.”
According to Casio, tensions peaked when he encountered Lanez and allegedly saw what appeared to be a weapon in the rapper’s pocket.
Acting on what he described as instinct and self-preservation, Casio attacked Lanez, stabbing him multiple times in the back, torso, and head.”I didn’t want to kill him,” Casio added. “I just didn’t want to die.”
Despite the assault, which left Lanez with multiple injuries, Casio expressed a conflicted sense of remorse. He stopped short of offering a full apology, but acknowledged the gravity of the incident.
Interestingly, Casio claimed he too was injured during the altercation, sustaining a stab wound to the leg — further, in his view, proof that Lanez was armed.
The two inmates reportedly shared a relatively cordial relationship prior to the incident, living in adjacent cells. “We got along okay at first,” Casio said. “But things changed. The energy shifted.”
Tory Lanez was hospitalized following the attack but has since returned to custody.
The incident has ignited fierce debate on prison safety and Lanez’s legal status, with high-profile figures rallying to his defense.
Rapper Drake and U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna have both called on California Governor Gavin Newsom to issue a pardon for Lanez, who is serving a 10-year sentence for the 2020 shooting of fellow artist Megan Thee Stallion.
Lanez’s legal team swiftly rejected Casio’s self-defense claim, labeling it a “ludicrous fabrication.” In a strongly worded statement, the team described the attack as “savage and ferocious,” emphasizing that Casio, already serving a life sentence for violent offenses, has little to lose.”
This is a man with a history of extreme violence, the statement read. “To suggest this was self-defense is not only insulting, it’s dangerous misinformation.
Tory Lanez remains in real and present danger every day he remains incarcerated.”Lanez’s attorneys reiterated their belief in his innocence and renewed calls for his immediate release, describing his imprisonment as a “grave miscarriage of justice.”
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has launched an internal investigation into the incident, and questions continue to swirl about how such a violent episode could occur within the confines of a maximum-security facility.
This underscores not only the hazards of prison life but also the controversy surrounding Tory Lanez’s conviction and incarceration.
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