UP IN SMOKE

Death Penalty Off the Table for Pop Smoke’s Alleged Killer

Corey Walker still faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The man charged along with three juveniles in the murder of rapper Pop Smoke won’t face the death penalty, prosecutors say. Corey Walker could still face a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted for the killing of the 20-year-old rapper, whose real name was Bashar Jackson, on February 19, 2020. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon announced back in December that a death sentence is “never an appropriate resolution in any case.” The three minors allegedly involved in Jackson’s slaying have been charged in juvenile court. The up-and-coming rapper was found mortally wounded in his Hollywood Hills rental home and pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His posthumously released album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, won the top rap album and top Billboard 200 album at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards.