A Las Vegas judge ruled Tuesday that a murder suspect's own memoir can be used against him at trial — a straightforward application of the principle that your words have consequences — while in Michigan, a man who allegedly killed the Good Samaritan who took him off the streets marks 905 days in custody working through his third court-appointed attorney.

The two cases illustrate a justice system that can move with precision when a suspect hands prosecutors the evidence himself, but bogs down in procedural delay when the accused works the system.

Duane "Keffe D" Davis, 63, faces one charge of murder with a deadly weapon in the 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas. The case had gone cold for decades until Davis started talking — publicly, repeatedly, and in print. He co-wrote the 2019 memoir "Compton Street Legend," in which he said he was in the Cadillac and provided the weapon used to shoot Shakur. He also gave interviews on YouTube discussing the events.

Defense attorney Michael Sanft argued the book was fictionalized to make a profit and that it was unclear which parts Davis actually wrote. He also sought to bar statements Davis made to police in 2008 and 2009, arguing Davis believed he had immunity under a proffer agreement.

Judge Carli Kierny wasn't buying it. She determined that Davis adopted the statements in the book as his own, regardless of who typed the words, noting he repeatedly described the book as the "real truth." She found the police statements voluntary, though she expressed concern that Davis was told in 2008 he would not be prosecuted for what he said in that interview.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo argued those interviews became fair game when Davis chose to write and speak about the events publicly. "Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime," DiGiacomo said, according to WDIV.

Trial is scheduled for Aug. 10.

Meanwhile, in Saginaw, Michigan, the wheels turn at a different speed. Antonio Braylock, 22, is charged with open murder and felony firearm in the January 2024 shooting death of 62-year-old Willie E. Barnes. Barnes had taken Braylock in after learning the young man was living in a homeless shelter, according to MLive. Barnes's grandson testified he introduced the two around New Year's Day. Two nights after Braylock moved in, police found Barnes dead on his bedroom floor with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Braylock surrendered Jan. 6, 2024. He has been in custody 905 days. A judge deemed him psychologically unfit in October 2024 and committed him for treatment. Competency was restored after an independent evaluation in December 2025 found him fit. At a hearing Monday, Braylock's second court-appointed attorney, Jeffrey J. Rupp, asked to withdraw, citing a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship. "He just repeatedly insisted I be removed from his case," Rupp told the judge. Braylock said he wants to hire his own attorney and complained his case is taking too long. He's now getting his third lawyer.

One suspect talks himself into a trial. The other talks his way out of one — at least for now. The principle is the same either way: words have consequences, and so does a system that can't seem to deliver them without endless delay.