T.I. Released From Federal Prison, Back in Halfway House

After spending two weeks in the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta following a tour bus mishap, T.I. was freed and sent to a local halfway house.

Why the sudden change of heart? Tip’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, told TMZ, that the Grand Hustle leader’s team worked diligently to prove to the Bureau of Prisons that his client was not aware that he was breaking any rules when traveling back to Atlanta from Forrest City Federal Prison in Arkansas.

"We have good reason to believe that this favorable result was reached because of the proactive and assertive approach taken to protect T.I.'s rights by providing BOP officials and the media with reliable and accurate information,” he said, “and that T.I. did not intend to violate his transfer furlough or any other BOP rules en route from the prison facility in Arkansas to the halfway house in Atlanta."

As previously reported, T.I. was released from Forrest City on September 1, after serving 10-months of an 11-month sentence for a probation violation, stemming from his 2009 gun conviction. Once freed, he boarded a tour bus to an Atlanta halfway house, where he was expected to serve the remaining 30-days of his sentence, but federal officials objected to the passengers he took the journey with.

According to CNN, prison officials were upset with the fact that his manager and a reality TV producer joined Tip on the ride.

“Such people were not authorized to travel with him in the conditions of his furlough,” a Bureau of Prisons report obtained by CNN reads. “He further indicated he was discussing a new reality series and a book with those individuals.”

T.I. is expected to be released from the halfway house on September 29. Afterwards he will be on probation for one year. —Elan Mancini