Buju Banton Released From US Prison

Buju Banton has been released from prison after eight years at the McRae Correctional institution. An officer at the institution said the entertainer whose given name is Mark Myrie, was let out on earlier today.

The United States embassy in Kingston is tight-lipped about when reggae superstar Buju Banton will be returned to the country.

Buju, 45,was arrested in December 2009, months after he was met by a convicted drug trafficker on a flight from Spain who sought to set up a cocaine deal for him.

Following his conviction in February 2011, Buju was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
Federal prosecutors required two trials to convict the reggae icon, who was targeted and pursued by an undercover federal informant for more than a year.

Buju, a Grammy award-winning entertainer was convicted of drug trafficking on February 22, 2011 in Tampa, Florida, 12 days after the retrial of his case began. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

His initial release date was set as February 2019, but was later revised to December 8, 2018.
Buju recently released a statement saying that upon release he only wants to be associated with his craft.

"Having survived, I want to share the good news and strength of my music. I just want to continue making music, which I've devoted my life to. I look forward to the opportunity to say a personal thanks to my fans and everyone who supported me," Buju said.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20181207/buju-banton-released-us-prison-0

Buju Banton Moves To Circumvent ICE Detention Ahead Of Prison Release

Buju Banton is moving to circumvent any ICE detention that might come his way.

Buju Banton, real name Mark Myrie, has just over a month to serve before he is released from federal prison, on December 8, 2018. The reggae/dancehall legend is eager to return to his family and fans in Jamaica, so he has hired a team of high powered attorneys to oversee his release from prison and pending deportation back to Jamaica. Urban Islandz previously reported that Buju is planning to embark on an extensive tour called “Long Walk To Freedom Tour” which will comprise of shows in the wider Caribbean, Africa, and Europe.

But before he embarks on his upcoming tour, Banton will be performing in Jamaica for his first post-prison concert. The Grammy-winning singer’s publicist, Ronnie Tomlinson, confirmed that his legal team is now working to ensure that his transition from prison to Jamaica is as smooth as possible. Upon his release from the McRae Correctional Institute located in Georgia on December 8, Buju Banton will be placed in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The singer wants that time to be as little as possible.

We’re told that sometimes ICE processed inmates in a day and sometimes it could take months. Buju Banton has no interest in fighting his immigration status in the United States which will make it easier for him to be sent to Jamaica immediately after completing his sentence. This also means that he will not be able to travel and work in the United States possibly for an extended period.

“Buju has made sure that his stay with ICE will be as short as possible,” Tomlinson said. “He has opted for voluntary deportation. He should be home in very short order after his sentence ends.”
Sources told Urban Islandz that Buju Banton would likely be home in Jamaica within days of his release from prison.

Source: https://urbanislandz.com/2018/10/27/buju-banton-circumvent-ice-detention-prison/

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/

Buju Banton on the move, being transferred to new location

Convicted reggae superstar Buju Banton has been transferred from the Florida federal prison where he has been serving a 10-year sentence. 

His final destination is still unknown, but the Grammy-winning entertainer, whose real name is Mark Myrie, is now at the Federal Transfer Centre (FTC) in Oklahoma City. 

A spokeswoman at the Federal Bureau of Prisons this morning declined to discuss the reasons for the transfer or divulge which facility he is being transferred to. 

"As a matter of policy, we don't discuss that," the spokeswoman told The Gleaner. 

According to the Bureau of Prisons' website, the FTC is an administrative facility that houses male and females holdover offenders. 

Buju was convicted on drug charges stemming from an attempted drug deal in 2009. 

A Florida judge recently dismissed his appeal for a new trial, but the entertainer has already served notice that he will continue his fight to overturn the conviction. 

Buju's 10-year sentence started December 2009, his projected release date according to the Bureau of Prisons' website is March 2019. 

Livern Barrett, Gleaner Writer 

Source: http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=47618 

Buju wants to be absent from sentencing hearing

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Incarcerated Reggae star Buju Banton, has requested that he not be present at his sentencing on a firearm charge in the US District Court in Tampa, Florida next month. A member of Banton's legal team Ihmotep Alkebu-lan told the Jamaica Observer that the artiste has made a formal request that he be absent from the hearing.

"He has asked not to be transported from prison to the court for the sentencing," Alkebu-lan said.
He is currently being housed at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Miami, a low security prison.
However Banton will have to wait on a court ruling to find out if his request will be granted.
Banton had appealed his 10-year sentence after being found guilty on cocaine related charges but the appeal was thrown out by an Appellate Court based in the state of Georgia.
The court also re-instated a firearm charge that was dismissed by judge James Moody. Moody reasoned that Banton had never spoken to or met his co-defendant James Mack, who was held with Ian Thomas in a government controlled warehouse attempting to but a large quantity of cocaine. The gun was found in a hidden compartment of a car Mack was driving.
Both men pleaded guilty and were sentenced to five years but Banton has maintained his innocence and claimed the US government entrapped him by hiring the services of convicted drug dealer turned government informant Alexander Johnson.
Banton faces an additional five years on the firearm charge.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Buju-wants-to-be-absent-from-sentencing-hearing#ixzz26YCj4qvy

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