Rapper G. Dep spent 17 years contemplating whether he should turn himself in for the 1993 murder of John Henkel.
Now, he'll spend at least the next 15 years behind bars wondering whether he made the right decision.
G. Dep, who said he turned himself in for the nearly two-decade-old shooting to clear his conscience, was sentenced Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court to 15 years to life in prison.
The judge and the prosecutor said the rapper deserved credit for 'fessing up when he’d never even been suspected of the killing.
"It may not be the best legal strategy, but, certainly, it was the right thing to do, even though it landed you in the situation you’re in now," Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus said.
G. Dep's lawyer, Anthony L. Ricco, said despite the sentence, his client was content with his decision to confess.
"He was in search of his redemption and his honor, and some might say that he achieved that," Ricco said after court, according to NBC New York.
G. Dep was portrayed throughout the trial as a cold-blooded killer. But Manhattan Assistant District Attorney David Drucker praised the rapper’s decision to come forward.
"He had no ulterior motive, nothing to gain, other than within himself," Drucker said, according to NBC New York.