Smith's lawyer, Ivan Fisher, claimed the two women struggled and the gun went off accidentally.

The 26-year-old rapper begged the judge for leniency for the sake of her child, adding that she grew up surrounded by failure, violence and poverty. State Supreme Court Justice Rena Uviller acknowledged that Smith had a difficult childhood, but noted the victim had nearly died and will never be physically the same. The judge said Smith was a young woman whose anger is out of control.

After the sentencing, Smith's fiance, fellow rapper Papoose [ tickets ], began screaming in a hallway outside the courtroom. He reportedly accused the victim of ulterior motives saying, "all you want is money." Smith's attorney had argued that Joseph's version of the incident changed when her lawyer was preparing a $20 million lawsuit against Smith; the suit was later withdrawn.

Papoose, who was escorted out of the courthouse yelling, "Lock me up. Lock me up," to court officers, had planned to wed Smith last weekend at Rikers Island jail where she's been incarcerated. The couple's jailhouse wedding reportedly was called off by correction officials who said Papoose was carrying a handcuff key when he came to Rikers to marry Smith. Smith's lawyer said Papoose, whose real name is Shamele Mackie, had a key but denied that it could be used to open handcuffs. Mackie hasn't been charged in the incident and the couple apparently still plans to wed.