Appeals court grills attorneys over whether Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was improperly sentenced | CNN

A panel of federal appellate judges on Thursday grilled US prosecutors and lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs over the validity of his 50-month prison sentence for his conviction on prostitution-related charges. Combs’ lawyers are seeking the music mogul’s release from prison, arguing his trial judge improperly considered conduct for which Combs had been found not guilty – namely the evidence linked to the more serious counts of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. “Their unanimous verdict was not guilty on the most serious charges,” defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro told the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday. “The jury did not authorize punishment for sex trafficking or conspiracy, but that’s what drove the sentence here.” Prosecutors, in turn, are asking the appeals court to affirm the conviction and sentence. Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik argued Combs’ sentence was based in part on many factors that did not include acquitted conduct, including his history of abusing women. “What the judge did here, what really drove his analysis, didn’t rely on acquitted conduct,” Slavik said. “It didn’t even rely on disputed issues to begin