Markies Conway, the Dallas rapper known as Yella Beezy, went from radio hits to a life sentence in one afternoon. As we previously reported, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, a Dallas jury came back with a guilty verdict after only a few hours of deliberation, and Texas law automatically sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole. The verdict landed on the sixth anniversary of the day rapper MO3 was gunned down on Interstate 35.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Conway showed no visible reaction before he was cuffed, while some of his supporters left in tears. Things reportedly changed once he was out of sight though. NBC 5 reported that after he was taken back into custody, he “fell out” in the back hallway.
I his situation, that’s an understandable reaction as his life is about to be real hard in the slammer.
TMZ reports that per the facility handbook he gets one shower a day, can wear boxers while he rinses off, will sleep on a bunk in a cell or dorm, and must keep his belongings in a small box. He may qualify for one two-hour visit per week, and a romantic partner can come, but only kissing and hand-holding across a table is allowed.
Commissary spending runs between $25 and $85 every two weeks, depending on his offender level. On the conjugal visit question, there was never a loophole to lose. Texas has never allowed conjugal visits for inmates…
More On The Case:
Prosecutors said Conway hired gunman Kewon White to end a long-running feud with MO3, whose legal name was Melvin Noble, and that White ambushed him on I-35 on Nov. 11, 2020, firing more than 40 rounds. In rebuttal, prosecutor Tommy Adams said Conway had “motive, money, and the man,” pointing to a $40,000 bank withdrawal and frequent calls between White and alleged middleman Jerry Johnson. The defense countered that two successful rappers had no reason to go to war, and that investigators had tunnel vision and leaned on speculation and rap lyrics.
White is already locked down. He was convicted and sentenced to life in September, and another defendant, Devin Brown, is set for trial later this month.
The defense isn’t conceding anything. Attorney Toby Shook says the team plans to appeal and believes it has strong appellate points. The case also goes to automatic appeal. Appeals are a long road, and nothing about his current situation changes while it plays out.
At the end of the day, two men from the same city, chasing the same dream, are both gone from the culture, one in the ground and one behind bars for good. MO3’s family and Dallas lost a son and an artist, and Beezy’s own child is now growing up with a father he’ll only see across a table.