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 Banton’s lawyers file appeal

The legal representation for embattled Reggae superstar, Mark “Buju Banton” Myrie officially filed an appeal on behalf of the beloved singjay.

The appeal was filed by Buju attorneys,David Oscar Markus, Mona Markus, Anita Margot Mossand Marc Seitles in the United States Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit in Georgia on Friday. In the appeal, Buju’s legal team seeks that the singjay’s ten year sentence on drug charges this past June be reversed; suggesting that the case should be dismissed citing prejudice or that the artiste should receive a new trial.

Buju’s lawyers contend in the appeal that the district court erred in failing to grant Myrie’s judgment of acquittal as a matter of law, claiming amongst other things: “The undisputed evidence is that Myrie did not agree to participate in the drug conspiracy that eventually was reached among others.”

Also, “Myrie had almost no participation in the telephone call forming the basis of the government’s charge that he aided and abetted the ‘facilitation’ of a drug conspiracy, and in fact the telephone call in question did not facilitate a drug conspiracy in any event.”

Furthermore, “Whether the district court erred in failing to find that Myrie was entrapped as a matter of law, where there was no evidence that Myrie was predisposed to engage in a cocaine distribution scheme, and the undisputed evidence was that the government pursued a lengthy, intense, unrelenting campaign to target Myrie through an unsupervised paid informant who was desperate to earn a cut of the deal.”

Finally, “Whether the district court erred in failing to dismiss the case based on the expiration of the speedy trial clock.”

Buju’s lawyers also intimate that the district court made a mistake in failing to discover that he was entrapped as a matter of law, as he was not predisposed to participate in a cocaine conspiracy and his involvement was the result of improper government inducement.

Additionally, they intimated that Buju was an unwilling participant in the drug deal; arguing that his consistent efforts to avoid following up government informant Alex Johnson’s consistent and emphatic efforts to draw Myrie in and because the speedy trial clock ran long before his case was tried, the case should have been dismissed with prejudice.

Buju Banton was initially convicted of three drug-related charges in February for the December 2009 incident in which he stood accused of conspiring to organize a drug deal within a police-controlled warehouse.


Source: http://www.examiner.com/jamaican-pop-culture-in-national/buju-banton-s-lawyers-file-appeal Jodee Brown, Jamaican Pop Culture Examiner

Buju Banton Heads to Relatively Safer Miami Prison After Stay in Rough Texas Jailhouse

Buju Banton has been on the move during the first few months of his ten-year sentence on federal drug charges. The iconic dancehall star went from Florida to Oklahoma to Texas, back to Oklahoma, and he'll soon be en route to the Federal Correctional Institution Miami, according to David Oscar Markus, Banton's attorney.

Plans to place Banton in a Mississippi prison fell through when authorities discovered that a codefendant in the case had already been assigned to the facility. Authorities then stowed Banton in a Federal Transfer Center in lovely Oklahoma City before moving him to a correctional institution in the dreadful-
sounding city of Groesbeck, Texas.

"He was at one of the worst places you can imagine -- a county facility that had been converted to house federal inmates," Markus said. "The place was used for short-stay Mexican nationals who were going to be deported. It was filled with Mexican gangs. Buju was one of very few black men in there. It was really violent."

A Tampa jury found Banton guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense, and using the wires to facilitate a drug-trafficking offense in February 2011, days after he won a Grammy for best reggae album.

Federal Judge James S. Moody Jr. later tossed the gun charge, given the fact that Banton had never met or spoken with James Mack, a codefendant from Georgia who brought the gun to the drug deal, which turned out to be a sting operation orchestrated by a government informant. Banton was hundreds of miles away, resting in his Tamarac duplex, when the bust occurred.

Both Judge Moody and the Jamaican consulate urged the Federal Bureau of Prisons to move Banton from the Texas facility.

"We're very appreciative that Judge Moody stood by his initial recommendation that Buju should be in Miami," Markus said. "And he made a point to comment that Buju is a peaceful person and shouldn't be housed in a violent facility."

Markus said he plans to file an appellate brief with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta later next month.

Source: http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/countygrind/2011/11/buju_banton_prison_miami.php