Rapper Lil Boosie found not guilty in murder trial

Baton Rouge - After hearing a week of testimony, and then deliberating Friday for an hour, jurors found Baton Rouge, Louisiana rapper Lil Boosie not guilty of first degree murder, MTV News reports.

Boosie, real name Torence Hatch, was accused of hiring a hit man named Michael "Marlo Mike" Louding to kill Terry Boyd in 2009, USA Today reports. Boyd, 35, was shot and killed in his home in October 2009. His sister, Rochelle Wagner, is the mother of Hatch's 5-year-old daughter. If convicted, Hatch could've been sentenced to life in prison. On the third day of testimony in the trial, Michael "Marlo Mike" Louding, 19, took the stand and recanted his confession that Boosie paid him $2,800 to kill Terry Boyd, The Advocate reports. He testified that he confessed only because police threatened him and his family. He said he and Hatch had nothing to do with Boyd's death. According to MTV News, the prosecution received much criticism for using rap lyrics from Boosie's song "187" as evidence, and even pointed to Louding's tattoo of an AK 47, which had the words "Yo Boosie. What's Next?" as proof that the two conspired to kill Boyd. The defense argued that Boosie was an artist, and his lyrics were just lyrics. The lyrics in question were "Yo Marlo. He drive a Monte Carlo. That bi*** gray. I want that ni*** dead today," XXL Mag reports. According to computer forensics expert, Konstantinos Dimetrelos, who had examined Boosie's hard drive, the rapper recorded those lyrics an hour before Boyd was murdered. Though he was acquitted Friday, TMZ reports that Boosie will not be a free man anytime soon as he is currently serving an 8-year prison sentence on drug charges.