A no-contest plea, in the California legal system, means the defendant does not admit guilt but does not contest the facts as presented. It carries the same legal weight as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes, but the defendant is not required to say they did something they are unwilling to say they did.
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Sentencing came on November 2, 1984.
Gay Sr. was 70 years old—he had turned 70 in October. He was elderly, reportedly in fragile health following brain surgery.
At the sentencing hearing, Gay Sr. addressed the court.
Those who were present, and reporters who covered the proceedings, described an old man in tears. He told the court he was sorry. He said he had loved his son. He said he was “paying the price now.” He said: “I’ll carry it with me ’til the day I die.”
The judge sentenced him to a six-year term in state prison—then suspended the entire sentence. Gay Sr. would serve no prison time. He was placed on five years of probation. He was barred from owning firearms or drinking alcohol for the remainder of his life.
The reasons cited for the suspended sentence included Gay Sr.’s age and his health—the brain surgery and its aftermath. The judge found that imprisonment would likely be a death sentence for a 70-year-old man who had recently undergone major surgery.
For many people who loved Marvin Gaye, the sentence was painful to accept. A man had shot and killed one of the most celebrated artists in American history and walked out of a courtroom to live the rest of his life free.