Ra Diggs

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Ra Diggs
Ra Diggs.png
Mugshot of Ra Diggs
Background information
Birth nameRonald Herron
OriginBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)Rapper
Years active2008–2010

Ronald Herron (born c. 1982),[1] known as Ra Diggs, is an American former rapper and convicted murderer, gang leader, and drug trafficker, formerly based in Brooklyn, New York City.

Career[]

He began a career on November 25, 2008, creating a YouTube blog channel called "RaDiggsTV". It has 428 subscribers and 63,813 views as of January 1, 2022.[2]

On March 10, 2010, he created a YouTube channel called "VANGODENT". It has over 3,100 subscribers as of January 2022.[3] He would post music videos to the channel.

On June 11, 2010, he released a song to the channel called "Eulogy". It has over 996,000 views as of January 2022.[4]

Imprisonment[]

Ra Diggs was arrested on October 5, 2010, on drug charges, and was alleged to be leader of the Bloods-affiliated "Murderous Mad Dogs".[5][6][7] He was convicted on June 26, 2014, of 21 federal charges, including racketeering, drug dealing, and three murders. At trial, several of Ra Diggs songs and music videos were used as evidence because they were "literal recountings of his crimes".[8] The federal prosecuting attorney said:

He styled himself a rap artist, but the jury's verdict makes clear who Herron really is: a drug dealer and murderer who sought power through fear and intimidation.[8]

On April 2, 2015, he was sentenced to three life terms plus 105 years in prison. He told the judge that he could give him 10 life terms and that he was only going to die once, after which he was sentenced to 12 life terms plus 105 years in prison.[citation needed] He is being held at ADX Florence in Colorado.[9]

On April 8, 2015, Herron sent an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit[10] claiming that his conviction violated his constitutional First Amendment rights. The conviction was upheld on February 14, 2019, with the court saying that his First Amendment challenge was "meritless… because here the speech is not 'itself the proscribed conduct'".[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Find an inmate: RONALD HERRON − Register Number: 78527-053; Age: 38 (June 12, 2020); Release Date: LIFE. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved June 12, 2020
  2. ^ "RaDiggsTV - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  3. ^ "VANGODENT - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  4. ^ RA DIGGS "EULOGY" (OFFICIAL VIDEO), retrieved October 2, 2021
  5. ^ Bark, Theo (February 14, 2012). "Ra Diggs Murder Charge: Three Killings, Faces Death for Bragging". The Boombox.
  6. ^ "In Brief: Rap Videos Admissible". Law.com. May 12, 2014.
  7. ^ "Uncle Murda Associate Ra Diggs Arrested For Running Drug Ring, Faces Life In Prison". Baller Status. October 9, 2010.
  8. ^ a b Reilly, Dan (June 27, 2014). "Rapper Ra Diggs Convicted of Three Murders After His Videos Are Used as Evidence". SPIN.
  9. ^ Schweber, Nate (April 3, 2015). "Ra Diggs Gets 12 Life Sentences". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Hudson, David L. Jr. "Court rejects gang leader's claim that his rap videos could not be used as evidence". www.mtsu.edu. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  11. ^ "United States v. Herron, 15-1089-cr | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Retrieved September 9, 2021.

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