He added that Mr. Glover seemed to have shed his contrition.
“The Nathaniel Glover who took responsibility on the day of the killing is not the man who stands before you today,” Mr. Dahl said. “He blames everyone but himself.”
Speaking to the judge, Mr. Glover said that he was disappointed at how the case had played out, adding that he had been portrayed as a person “who has no remorse or humanity.” He said that he expected to be exonerated.
Mr. Celestin said that he would appeal and, outside the courtroom, said Justice Rodney had exercised outsize influence over the trial.
He took issue with her not having allowed a “cultural expert” to testify that the term “what’s up” — the words with which Mr. Glover said Mr. Jolly had greeted him — could be viewed as a threat. And he said that the judge had not allowed Mr. Glover to argue that he had been defending himself that night, even though jurors had asked whether they could take self-defense into account.
A cousin of Ms. Jolly, Cheryl Horry, said that she, too, was disappointed and said that Mr. Glover should have received the maximum sentence, noting that he showed no remorse.
“He didn’t say sorry,” she said. “He didn’t even say sorry to his own family. That shows a lot.”
“Mr. Jolly’s death was devastating to his family and those who knew him,” said the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg. “Every life we lose to violent crime ripples throughout our entire city, and we will continue to ensure everyone in our borough can live their lives with the sense of safety and security they deserve.”
As one of the Furious Five, Mr. Glover was a key member of a group that brought hip-hop from the block parties where it was born into the recording studio. He was featured on early singles like “Superrappin’” and “Freedom,” and his brother, Melvin Glover, who uses the stage name Melle Mel, rapped on the group’s biggest hit, “The Message.” Another member, Keef Cowboy, is often credited with having invented the term “hip-hop.”
The group broke up in the late 1980s. While Melvin Glover continued to make music with another member of the group, Scorpio, Mr. Glover was soon working a temp job and living in a modest Bronx rooming house. He was still living there in August 2017, on the night he encountered Mr. Jolly.