EX-GANGSTER Duane Keefe D Davis is allegedly giving himself a fighting chance of walking away a free man - despite confessing to the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.
Keefe's refusal to give evidence about his links to Tupac's death places huge pressure on prosecutors, according to an expert.
And Keefe staying silent at trial - despite confessing to police and the media about his alleged key role in the crime - could sway a jury and result in him getting off.
That is the insight of a top US lawyer, who says Keefe's multiple admissions to planning Tupac's 1996 shooting may not be enough to send him to jail.
Attorney Jamie Wright spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun as Keefe is set to stand trial after pleading not guilty in November 2023.
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Wright said, "The prosecution has the burden of proof, and it has to be beyond a reasonable doubt, right?
"If there's any kind of doubt, then at that point, a jury can say it is not guilty, or maybe they're even hung.
"The benefit is by not speaking sometimes, juries, they form opinions about you based on what you say or how you present it because they're looking at so many things.
"They're not just listening to the evidence, but they're also watching the person.
"By invoking his right to remain silent, he solely places the burden on the prosecution to say, 'We have enough evidence to make this beyond a reasonable doubt,' which is almost, it's not a hundred percent, but it's way beyond 50.
"So it places the burden on the prosecution. They have a lot more work to do if he decides, 'I'm not going to say anything at all.'"
'MANY CONFESSIONS'
Keefe gave interviews to police in 2008 and 2009 explaining his intimate knowledge of the hit and detailing the alleged moment of the kill by his nephew, Orlando Anderson.
He outlines similar criminality in his memoir Compton Street Legend and has also told media outlets about his alleged involvement.
Despite his comments, he now claims he "made it all up for money and fame," although this may not stand up in court.
Wright says the jury may find him guilty after watching videos of his admissions and hearing tapes of his police confessions - which were allegedly given as a part of an immunity deal.
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Asked whether she thinks he will be found guilty, she added, "I would say I'm leaning on the side of the prosecution on this particular one.
"I just think the absence of a statement could yell guilty.
"But it all depends. I would have to watch his demeanor. I would have to watch how he presents himself while he's sitting there during the trial. I'd have to know who the prosecutors are."
"Are they the star prosecutors in that office? Are they [lawyers] who have been trying cases for 30 years?" she asked.
"Just because you're a prosecutor doesn't mean that you're a good trial lawyer."
Wright makes it clear that multiple confessions are often still not enough in criminal trials to convict someone.
"When jurors are brought into a courtroom, they're given instructions at the beginning of the trial, and then once they go to deliberate, they're given a whole other set of instructions, which is, you can't consider any outside evidence," she said.
"You're only supposed to consider what's been presented to you.
"You're not supposed to consult any party resources. You're not supposed to contact anybody in this case. Could they be sequestered? Possibly.
"If they're sequestered, then they're not looking at any television, they're not looking at any media.
The benefit is by not speaking sometimes [in a trial], juries, they form opinions about you based on what you say or how you present it because they're looking at so many things.
Jamie Wright
"So the eyes of us watching it on the media versus somebody who's actually in the room deliberating is a whole set of different circumstances because they've been given instructions that are different."
Meanwhile, Keefe plans to stop his recorded boasts - of hunting down the rapper in Las Vegas - from ever being heard in his upcoming trial later this year.
He admitted to being the ringleader of a group of South Side Crips, who hunted Tupac after he allegedly beat up Keefe's nephew Anderson in September 1996.
Keefe's lawyer, Carl Arnold, is optimistic that a 2009 taped interview with Metro Police will not feature in the trial, claiming it is legally problematic and "worthless" as evidence.
