Letter by Buju paying tribute to late attorney

Incarcerated Reggae icon Buju Banton has issued a heart-rending tribute to his former lead attorney and late Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, Kwame Lumumba, who died under mysterious circumstances last week.

Writing from a federal prison in Miami, Florida, Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, blasted the system which he claimed entrapped and imprisoned him for his beliefs. Here is the full text of Banton's letter.

Mark Anthony Myrie (86700004) ( Buju Banton) To the family and friends of the late  Chokwe Lumumba: My heart goes out to you all. I share in your grief immensely.

Having been one of the many lives Atty Lumumba has touched, it's with a deep sense of privation that I mourn the passing of my friend and another great black freedom fighter. Atty Chokwe Lumumba, a warrior just like the great leader Patrice Lumumba who fought for the liberation of the Congo in Africa.

Atty Lumumba fought for many who could not stand up against a profaned system that is filled with injustice. A well-disciplined and principled man.

We first met while I was going through the litigation process stemming from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal's decision to reinstate a gun charge. A charge that was previously dismissed by the district court judge.

This tall, dignified black man walked into the visiting room at the FCI Miami, introduced himself and got right down to business. Atty Lumumba had already done his homework concerning my case and clearly saw that something was amiss. He never tried to sugar-coat his thoughts.

Atty Lumumba believed it was imperative and made it very clear that I should do the same.

Throughout those protracted months I spent at the Pinellas County Jail in Tampa, Florida, Atty Lumumba called at least twice weekly to discuss my case and ascertain all was well with me.

He travelled all the way from Mississippi to Florida for attorney client visits. All these actions of genuine interest in my situation gave me confidence in Atty Lumumba. We developed mutual respect for each other.

His appraisal of my chances as it regards justice were always realistic, hence his proactive approach as opposed to being reactive.

This brought about a favourable outcome, with the gun charge being dismissed.

At the end of the evidentiary hearings in 2013, Atty Lumumba looked me in the eyes and said: "What did you do to these people. This is not justice at all. From the gate, you have been screwed".

Atty Lumumba also advised me that having been elected Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, he was unable to continue his career as a defence attorney.

However, he went on to recommend a few attorneys whom he believed would effectively assist me. Atty Lumumba also reached out to my current attorney, Professor Charles Ogletree.

In parting, Atty Lumumba again said: "Mark, it's going to be an uphill struggle. I saw what they did to you and, unfortunately, you didn't see it coming. Once they have you, it's hell to break free from their chains son. I wish you all the best. You can call me anytime for anything at all. However, I can render assistance, trust me I will".

We spoke several times after he was no longer my official representative, even through third parties, even as recent as two days before his passing. So I was not only shocked but also in a state of denial.

Atty Lumumba was vigorous and energetic. Even when he spoke in a subtle manner. How could this happen without warning? This is really sad. I just have to pay my respects in whatever way I can.

Thank you for the time you dedicated to my cause. It will be with me forever and the countless others whom you have touched with your passion for justice.

I know you are in a much better place. If what they say is true, then you are still fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves.

Farewell, my friend. You shall be greatly missed. Friends for life and even after.

Mark Myrie aka Buju Banton

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Buju-pays-tribute-to-late-attorney_16210342

Buju Gets New Lawyer, Transferred To Another Prison

Buju Banton is making some serious movements in his ongoing quest for freedom.

The Grammy-winning reggae star has acquired the services of a new attorney name Charles J. Ogletree Jr. after his previous lawyer Chokwe Lumumba was elected mayor of Jackson Mississippi.

“Attorney Charles J. Ogletree is the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law Director, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice,” Buju Banton`s Defense Support Committee said in a statement. “Accordingly, he is more than ready to continue the fight for justice for Buju. We expect that Attorney Ogletree will determine what his next steps will be after reviewing the case. Attorney Lumumba has already filed a notice of appeal following the incomplete justice Judge Moody gave on June 26, 2013.”

Buju Banton is also being transferred to a new prison.

According to reports, the reggae singer, real name Mark Myrie, was transferred from a Florida prison and is now being held at a Federal Transfer Centre (FTC) in Oklahoma City.

The reason for his transfer is not yet known.

Banton was convicted on three counts of drug trafficking charges and sentenced to 10 years behind bars.

Source: http://urbanislandz.com/2013/09/02/buju-banton-gets-new-lawyer-transfered-to-another-prison/

Reggae star Buju Banton's attorneys want to leave case

TAMPA — Reggae star Buju Banton's attorneys want to quit representing him in the appeal of a federal drug case. Attorney Chokwe Lumumba was elected mayor of Jackson, Miss., this summer. Attorney Imhotep Alkebu-lan became special assistant to Jackson's city attorney. The two filed a motion Wednesday in U.S. District Court, asking to withdraw and stating that their new duties "will prevent them from representing him in future proceedings."

Their vigorous defense of Banton won a dismissal of a gun charge in June and left Tampa juror Terri Wright facing a possible misconduct charge for researching the case during trial.

Banton, born Mark Anthony Myrie, is serving a 10-year prison sentence for helping set up a deal to buy and sell 11 pounds of cocaine. His attorneys wanted U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. to order a new trial. Instead, Moody set aside a conviction on a gun charge, reasoning that it might have been affected by Wright's research.

The two defense attorneys also withdrew last week from a murder trial that was supposed to have begun Monday in Oktibbeha County, Miss. The Starkville Daily News in Mississippi reported Saturday that Lumumba first cited mayoral duties in attempting to leave the murder trial. When a judge declined, Lumumba presented documents relating to a health matter, and the defense team's withdrawal was allowed, the account said. In the Tampa case involving Banton, the motion to withdraw has been referred to Magistrate Judge Thomas G. Wilson.

It states that Banton has retained other counsel. 

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/reggae-star-buju-bantons-attorneys-want-to-leave-case/2132985

Buju Banton Returns To Court On June 26

Incarcerated reggae star Buju Banton will have his day in court on June 26, 2013.

Federal Judge James Moody Jr. has ordered the Grammy-winning singer, as well as, embattled juror Teri Wright to appeared in court on the same day in relation to the ongoing juror misconduct case.

Buju Banton and his legal team, headed by Chokwe Lumumba, are requesting a new trial on the grounds of a juror misconduct.

Teri Wright, who helped put Buju Banton behind bars for 10 years, told a South Florida journalist last year that she researched aspects of the case during the trial.

However, a massive dent was dealt to Buju Banton case against the juror last month when a computer expert found no trace of research on her computer hard drive.

Banton’s lawyers, however, said she turned over the wrong hard drive.

Buju Banton, real name Mark Myrie, is currently serving a 10-year sentence in a Florida prison after being convicted for drug trafficking. He is also facing an additional five years for a gun charge that was previously thrown out.

Judge James Moody is expected to hand down a ruling on June 26.

Source: http://urbanislandz.com/2013/04/18/buju-banton-returns-to-court-on-june-26/

Buju gets another date in court

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Reggae artiste Buju Banton has been granted a right to an evidentiary hearing by US magistrate James Moody.

Buju will be taken before the US Sam Gibbons Court in Tampa, Florida on December 20.

The court is to look into an admission by female juror, Terri Wright, that she violated federal regulations and researched aspects of the case over the Internet during the trial in order to have a better grasp of the issues.

Wright said she had secretly researched the Pinkerton Law, which was used by the prosecution to connect Buju to an illegal firearm that was found in the possession of a co-conspirator, James Mack, during a cocaine transaction in a police-controlled warehouse in Tampa.

Along with Wright, three other jurors will appear before the court at the December hearing.
Banton was given a 10-year sentence for drug related charges and missed being slapped with an additional five years on a gun conviction. The recommended for an additional five years by an Appellate Court came after two motions filed by his newly appointed legal team that he should be granted a new trial. The first motion was for the judge to reconsider his prior sentence and reduce it. The second motion was for a new trial based on jury misconduct.

Yesterday lead attorney Chokwe Lumumba told the Jamaica Observer that the ruling was a fillip to his client’s case. “It means we can demonstrate that the juror was guilty of misconduct and they should grant a mistrial,” Lumumba said.


Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Buju-gets-another-day-in-court

Buju Banton Granted Evidentiary Hearing

Embattled dancehall star Buju Banton got a major break in his ongoing case last week when a judge granted him an evidentiary hearing.

The hearing comes just weeks after Buju’s lawyer, Chokwe Lumumba, and his defense support committee files an application after learning that one of the jurors violates court orders.

The hearing is scheduled to take place at the Sam M. Gibbons Federal Court in Tampa, Florida on December 20th.

Four of the jurors involved in the infamous trial will answer to the court during that hearing.

Last month, juror Terri Wright admitted in an interview that she researched aspects of the case on her computer before reaching a verdict. If that turns out to be true, the judge could rule in favour of a mistrial.

Wright said her research of the case did not influence her decision.

Buju Banton, born Mark Myrie, is currently serving a 10-year sentence in a Florida prison after being convicted in February of three counts of drug trafficking charges.

The Grammy-winning singer is also facing an additional five years on a gun charge.

Source: http://urbanislandz.com/2012/11/19/buju-banton-granted-evidentiary-hearing/

Free Buju Press Conference

Dr. Carolyn Cooper moderates a press conference in Washington D.C. for supporters of Buju Banton including his attorney Chokwe Lumumba and Gramps Morgan. Another Boomshots exclusive.

Buju’s legal team aims new letter writing campaign at U.S. Supreme Court

The legal team for Dancehall superstar, Buju Banton continues to pull out all the stops in their fight to secure the embattled entertainer’s freedom as they have launched a new campaign targeting the United States Supreme Court.

Chokwe Lumumba, Buju’s lead lawyer, has spearheaded a new letter writing campaign set to raise awareness about the Grammy-winning singjay’s drug case. The campaign also re-affirms their stance that the entertainer should be released from federal prison.

In a letter to the U.S. Supreme Court released on Wednesday, Lumumba indicated that Buju has filed a petition for a Writ of Certiorari, seeking a review and reversal of his conviction and subsequent 10-year sentencing on drug charges, stemming from a December 2009 incident in Florida.

Part of said letter read, “The convictions of Mr. Myrie are outrageous and unjust. Mr. Myrie was the victim of a concerted U.S. government effort to entrap, conducted by a corrupt informant who was paid 3.5 million dollars by the government for his services in various cases over the years.”

It continued, “He has never been convicted of a crime prior to the present case. He has helped feed numerous hungry children in his country and otherwise contributed to worthy causes in Jamaica and elsewhere. He is supported by hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions worldwide. I ask this honorable court to review his case and grant Mark Myrie the relief he deserves.”

These moves follow a recent discussion dubbed the Free Buju Press Conference that was held a day before the U.S. presidential elections (November 5). The conference, organized by Lumumba and the Buju Banton Defense Support Committee, was moderated by University of the West Indies (UWI) lecturer, Dr. Carolyn Cooper. It featured several guest speakers, including prominent entertainers, Stephen Marley and Gramps Morgan as well as NAACP Prison Committee chairman, Nkechi Taifa and Vice-Chairman of the National Black United Front, Salim Adafo, amongst other reputable figures.

Lumumba addressed conference attendees, claiming that Buju Banton is a ‘political prisoner,’ while adding, “There is a generational gap between the struggle to free political prisoners and the struggles of young people. [Buju is helping] to keep the act of freeing political prisoners a relevant one to all generations that exist right now.”

Buju Banton remains housed in the Pinellas County Jail, based in Clearwater, FL as he awaits re-sentencing on a gun charge in the drug case. The re-sentencing was postponed on October 30 as law enforcement officials review allegations that a juror in Buju’s February 2011 trial admitted to reviewing facts of the case before deliberation. If proven true, the juror violation could constitute a mistrial.

For those who wish to write a letter to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Free Buju Campaign, send your mail to the address below.

United States Supreme Court
C/O Attorney Chokwe Lumumba
440 N. Mill St.
Jackson, Mississippi 39202

Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/buju-s-legal-team-aims-new-letter-writing-campaign-at-u-s-supreme-court

Buju Banton: Five More Years in Jail (?)

Early in 2009, legendary reggae performer Buju Banton stood behind a microphone at his Gargamel Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, and belted out what now seems to be a frighteningly prophetic tune: "Innocent."

"Jah knows I'm innocent. Jah knows I'm innocent," the track opens, the 39-year-old artist's gravelly sing-song style stretching the last syllable for emphasis. After the brass section kicks in, he wails, "The forces have gathered, for what I don't know, I really don't know."

Photo: Jonathan Mannion

A few months after recording the song, Buju was 600 miles away from his homeland, loafing around his Tamarac duplex in pajamas. Then there was a knock at the door. From outside, a female voice claimed to be a graduate student doing research for a dissertation on reggae. After pulling on some shorts and opening the door, the five-time Grammy-nominated singer and father of 13 was arrested on federal drug and gun charges.

The forces who had gathered against him in this scenario were a shady Colombian snitch once caught bringing 700 kilos of blow into Florida and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Now, nearly three years after Buju — real name Mark Myrie — was sent to a federal prison outside Tampa, his case continues to drag along. But that hasn't slowed his musical success. Last year, he won a Grammy for an album, Before the Dawn, that was completed behind bars. This past July, he won an International Reggae and World Music Award for "Jah Army," a song on which he collaborated with Stephen and Damian Marley. The track has amassed nearly 5 million views on YouTube.

In August, when famed reggae radio personality Clinton Lindsay published a list of the 50 most important reggae albums of all time to coincide with Jamaica's 50th year of independence, Banton's 1995 'Til Shiloh was the only contemporary record to make the cut.

"Almost every other person in Jamaica knows who Buju Banton is, so of course people miss Buju," says Markus Myrie, Banton's 18-year-old son, who has recently started producing and collaborating with well-known artists, including Bounty Killer. "His performances, his big stage shows — I think that's what people miss most."

Rather than tour and perform, Buju has recently been spending his days at the Federal Correctional Institution in South Miami-Dade, chipping away at a decadelong sentence and penning lyrics to new songs he won't be able to record for years. And it now seems inevitable that he'll be forced to spend even more time behind bars than anyone — even the trial judge and jurors — anticipated.

On October 30, he will return to a federal courtroom in Tampa, where Judge James Moody is expected to add five years to his sentence on a dubious firearm charge.

But exclusive interviews conducted by New Times with three jurors reveal that the reggae star nearly walked free after a 2011 retrial. Most alarming: All three jurors interviewed say the gun charge is without merit. "When we first got back into the room," recalls juror Brian Postlewait, an IT specialist, "it was ten to two for not guilty."

At first, Postlewait voted against conviction during deliberations, which lasted three days in February 2011. In a backroom of Tampa's courthouse, the jurors pored over the instructions, dissected the transcripts, watched and rewatched grainy surveillance video captured by the DEA, and vigorously debated the four charges — attempting to possess and distribute cocaine, conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, using a phone to facilitate a drug-trafficking offense, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense. They listed each count on a whiteboard accompanied by check boxes and consulted with the judge to clarify a few aspects of the case.

Slowly, momentum shifted in favor of the prosecution. Ultimately, it was the video of Buju in a warehouse dabbing his tongue with cocaine that sealed his fate. Jury instructions required them to convict on the gun charges if they believed the conspiracy claims, Postlewait says: "Once we got him on the first main charge, the gun [charge] had to go with it... which was unfortunate."

It wasn't easy on anyone in the jury room. Marie Hodge, another juror from the Tampa area, said she was sick to her stomach. "This was a wonderful person with all this great talent," she says, referring to Buju. "This guy seemed more idiot than criminal."

On the other hand, Hodge was forced to swallow the fact that Alex Johnson, the informant who has earned roughly $3.5 million for snitching on people over the past 14 years, was little more than a "credible scumbag who can make drug deals and talk the talk" on behalf of the government, she says.

The jury found Buju guilty on three of the four charges, but when sentencing came around in June 2011, Judge Moody threw out the gun allegation, which carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. It seemed reasonable: Buju never met or spoke with James Mack, a man who was arrested after driving from Atlanta to Florida with $135,000 cash and a gun stashed in a hidden compartment within his car to buy five kilos of coke. In fact, Buju wasn't even at the drug bust, and it's still unclear whether he knew the deal was taking place.


After the gun count was dismissed, Buju was sentenced to ten years on the two remaining drug charges.

This summer, however, an Atlanta appeals court, at the behest of the federal prosecutor, overturned Moody's decision. The judge has few options but to add the mandatory five years to Buju's sentence later this month.

Even Susan Devlin, a bespectacled redhead and one of the two jurors who initially voted guilty, is queasy over the prospect of the reggae star's getting more time. "None of us thought that he had anything to do with [the gun]," she says. "When the judge threw it out, I thought, 'That's good,' because we really didn't want to charge him with the gun."

In light of these revelations from jurors, one can't help but wonder why the feds have gone to such extremes to lock up one of the most critically important voices to come out of Jamaica since Bob Marley. (Of course, Buju is also well-known for homophobic lyrics, which have angered almost as many people as his songs have pleased.)

Options are running out, but Chokwe Lumumba , Buju's newly appointed attorney, is already planning an appeal. "The result on the gun charge is obviously unjust. And I can see full well why the judge saw fit to throw it out," Lumumba says. "Buju wasn't even there when the gun was possessed. There's very flimsy evidence as far as we can see that he would have actually known what was going on."



-Chris Sweeney
Source: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2012-10-11/news/buju-banton-five-more-years-in-jail/

Meet Buju's new lawyer

CHOKWE Lumumba, the African-American lawyer assigned to help Buju Banton appeal his drug-trafficking sentence, is best known for representing superstar rapper Tupac Shakur and members of the Black Panther Party.
On Tuesday after it was announced he would replace David Oscar Markus as the singjay's attorney, Lumumba told the Jamaica Observer that he finds himself in a "unique situation."

"This is the first time I'm representing someone from the Caribbean, but I'm also aware of the pressure authorities place on high-profile persons," he said from his Jackson, Mississippi office.
He added: "I'm not going to be making any pronouncements until I read the transcripts and talk to the brother in person."
Lumumba says he was contacted three months ago by persons close to Banton, with a possibility of taking up his case. He has spoken to him at least three times by phone from Florida where the Grammy winner is serving a 10-year sentence on drug-related charges.
Banton was found guilty last February in a Tampa, Florida Federal court. He also faced a gun possession charge but that was dismissed by Judge James Moody.
The 65-year-old Lumumba is likely to make his first appearance at Banton's side at a October 30 re-sentencing. An Atlanta, Georgia appeals court recently ruled that there is sufficient evidence to sentence the artiste to an additional five years on the gun charge.
Markus, a Miami lawyer, had represented Banton since his arrest on cocaine charges in December, 2009.
Almost 20 years ago, the Detroit-born Lumumba worked with another controversial artiste, the charismatic but mercurial Tupac Shakur who had numerous clashes with the law.
Like Johnnie Cochran of O J Simpson fame, Lumumba was a Civil Rights advocate who built an impressive resume working for embattled members of the Black Panther Party.
After graduating from Wayne State University in Michigan, Lumumba was admitted to the state Bar in 1976. He says his passion for the law was inspired by the Civil Rights and Black Power movements that exploded in the United States a decade earlier.
"That's the reason I became a lawyer, when I saw people like Martin Luther King being thrown into prison. I wanted to represent people who were wrongly persecuted," he said.
Tupac's standoffs with authorities kept Lumumba busy for much of the 1990s. His most famous case involving the rapper came in 1993 when he was charged with assault for shooting two police officers in Atlanta.
He was eventually cleared of the charges. Lumumba also successfully represented Lance Parker, a black man implicated in the beating of white truck driver Reginald Denny during the infamous 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles.
Born Edwin Taliaferro, he has been known as Chokwe Lumumba for most of his life. He took his Christian name from an Angolan tribe, while his surname was inspired by Patrice Lumumba, the iconic Congolese prime minister.
Lumumba, a widower and father of three adult children, says he is a big fan of Motown music. He has visited Jamaica three times.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Meet-Buju-s-new-lawyer_12379663#ixzz26YESiQPt