Buju Banton could walk free this year says Attorney Charles Ogletree

Could Buju Banton hit the streets before the end of his ten year prison sentence?

LISTEN to audio of interview with Attorney Charles Ogletree: http://www.iriefm.net/news/music/buju-banton-could-walk-free-year-says-attorney

Well, the Gargamel’s attorney, Charles Ogletree tells W.T.S that the dancehall deejay could be out this year. Attorney Ogletree who expresses his happiness with the latest developments surrounding the case, says if the conviction is reversed, Buju could be out this year.

The US Appeals Court has granted the deejay’s request to present oral arguments regarding his efforts to obtain a new trial. However, no date has yet been set for the lawyers to appear before the Appeal Court.

Buju Banton is serving a 10-year sentence on drug-related charges after he was arrested at his South Florida home in December 2009 and charged with conspiracy to distribute five or more kilos of cocaine.

After two trials he was sentenced in a Tampa, Florida court.

Buju Banton has maintained his innocence and says he was entrapped by the United States government.

Source: http://www.iriefm.net/news/music/buju-banton-could-walk-free-year-says-attorney

Buju Banton May Get Chance To Go Free

Buju Banton was convicted in 2011 of a conspiracy to traffic cocaine, but now the husky voiced reggae star could have a chance to go free.

A lawyer for Banton said this week that a U.S. federal appellate court has agreed to hear arguments for an appeal.

“Mr. Buju Banton was pleased to learn that the 11th Circuit granted a new hearing of his appeal. We too are looking forward to the appellate argument,” said Charles Ogletree, a Harvard University law professor who took over Banton’s case in February.

Banton was convicted and sentenced to ten years for cocaine trafficking after he was arrested in a sting operation in 2009. After his first trial in 2010 ended with jurors deadlocked, Buju Banton was convicted in a re-trial the next year.

A jury convicted Banton on counts of “conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and using a telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking offense.”

Banton’s former lawyer had claimed that a government information entrapped the reggae star, though a panel of the appellate court denied the arguments in 2012 and upheld the conviction.

Buju Banton is seen as a trailblazer in the reggae-rap hybrid between dancehall reggae and traditional reggae.

At his sentencing, Banton called on a number of celebrities to speak in his favor, including Jamaican government officials, fellow reggae stars, and even an NBA player. Actor Danny Glover was one of those who spoke in support of Banton, calling him a”role model, philanthropist and spiritual leader in the community.”

“Your honor, Mark Myrie is not a drug dealer,” Glover wrote, using Banton’s given name. “Society would not benefit from his incarceration.”

It was not clear when Buju Banton could have a hearing for an appeal, or when a re-trail might take place.

Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/1422867/buju-banton-reggae-star-may-get-chance-to-go-free-on-cocaine-charges/#YGvgc7FSBO08j7EU.99

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 files another appeal

Incarcerated reggae star Buju Banton has filed yet another appeal in the United States to reverse his conviction on drug charges.

The appeal by attorneys Professor Charles Ogletree, Jack Cushman and Max Stern was filed with the 11th US Circuit Court on February 4.

Ogletree, who is the head of the law department at Harvard University, said he accepted the offer to represent Banton -- whose real name is Mark Myrie -- because it was clear that he did not receive a fair trial.

"There is no way in the world he received a fair trial," Ogletree told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

After two trials, Banton was sentenced to 10 years in a Tampa, Florida, court for drug-related offences. However, information later emerged that jury foreman Teri Wright had defied an order from Judge Tim Moody and had studied aspects of the Pinkerton Law and Banton's music.

The Pinkerton Law was used by the prosecution to convict Banton for using a telephone to facilitate a drug-trafficking offence.

The information came to light after Wright admitted her misconduct to a reporter. Wright was then ordered by the court to hand over a computer she had used to study the law, but instead handed over another computer. A computer forensics expert hired by Banton later proved that the hard drive on the computer had not been used for a number of years.

According to Ogletree, although the appeal had been filed, it would take months before the case is heard by the appellate court's judges.

"It's hard to tell; we have called for a continuance and the government will call for a continuance. However, I hope to get it before the court before the end of 2014," he said.

As an inmate in the care of the state, the federal Bureau of Prison can house Banton in any penal facility of their choice and Ogletree said a move was afoot to remove him from the low-security FCI Miami prison to another location.

"We have filed in the court to get him to stay in Miami," he said.

He said despite his travails, Myrie has remained upbeat and is looking forward to his appeal being heard.

"He is very positive. I speak to him every other day. He read the brief and is happy with it. He is glad that the truth is being told about him," he said.

Buju Banton was arrested in December 2009 at his Tamarac, Florida, home and charged with conspiracy to distribute five or more kilogrammes of cocaine. His arrest followed a sting operation at a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)-controlled warehouse in Tampa, which also resulted in the arrest of James Mack and Ian Thomas, who were attempting to purchase cocaine from undercover agents.

Banton has maintained his innocence and claimed he was entrapped by government informant Alexander Thomas, who hounded him for months to get involved in drug smuggling.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Buju-again-appeals-drug-conviction_16105414

Buju’s co-accused released from prison

IAN Thomas, one of the co-conspirators in the Buju Banton drug case, has been released from federal prison.

Thomas — who the Federal Bureau of Prisons' website said was released on August 23 — and James Mack were held in a police-controlled warehouse in Tampa, Florida , attempting to purchase a large quantity of cocaine p> from undercover Drug Enforcement Agents. A quantity of cash and an illegal pistol were later found in a car Mack was driving at the time.

That same day Banton, whose right name is Mark Myrie, was arrested at his home in Tamarac, South Florida.

Mack and Thomas both pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and agreed to testify against the Jamaican entertainer in exchange for lesser sentences.

Mack, who is currently serving time in a federal prison in Sacramento, California, is slated for release on November 11 this year.

Banton has been adamant that he is innocent of the charges and despite being sentenced to 10 years is fighting for a new trial after the jury foreperson in his second trial, Teri Wright, was found guilty of contempt of court after it was revealed that she had disobeyed an order from Magistrate James Moody not to study any aspect of the law as it related to Banton's case.

Banton is seeking to ask a US court to throw out his guilty verdict on the grounds that the jury was tainted.

In the meantime, the Buju Banton Defence Support Committee, in a release yesterday, said it remained at a loss in understanding how the foreperson of the jury could be found in contempt of court during the trial and follow-up hearing, yet only one of that jury's decisions was thrown out.

And the committee -- an international group of Banton's friends and civil rights activists — yesterday denied a local media report that the imprisoned entertainer has retained his former lawyer, David Oscar Markus on his legal team.

"That information is false. David Markus is not on Buju's legal team. Buju's new Attorney is Charles Ogletree of Harvard University. He is the sole attorney representing Mark," the group said in a release.

Attorney Chukwe Lumumba, who had replaced Marcus, was in June this year forced to recuse himself after he was elected mayor of Jackson, Mississippi. He, however, assisted the committee in securing the services of Charles Ogletree Jr to represent the Jamaican entertainer.

Ogletree is director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He founded and became director of the school's Criminal Justice Institute in 1990.

Banton was on August 24 sent to the FTC prison in Oklahoma, from where he will be transferred to another federal prison to serve his time.

He was previously locked up at the FCI penal institution in Miami, Florida but when the evidentiary hearings into Wright's misconduct began last year he was transferred to the Pinellas County Jail in Tampa.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Buju-s-co-accused-released-from-prison_14988220#ixzz2dvggqn4Y

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 Banton set to release new album in 2014

Despite being incarcerated on federal drug charges until 2019, embattled Dancehall/Reggae singer, Buju Banton is planning to drop a new studio album in the summer of 2014, according to reports Friday.

Tracii McGregor, a member of Buju’s management team revealed that most of the songs on the singjay’s album were recorded when he was out on bail in 2011, awaiting his trial on drug and gun charges. McGregor told the Jamaica Observer, "Buju is very involved in the process, of course. He is just as focused and detail oriented as he ever was.”

Producers expected to feature on the album include Stephen Marley and Blacker Dread, with production from Buju himself also featuring on the compilation.

This new studio album would mark Buju’s 13th in his over two decades as a mainstream artist. His last album was Before The Dawn, released in 2010, which featured singles such as Innocent, Battered and Bruised as well as Do Good. The album won the self-professed ‘Gargamel’ his first Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in February 2011, just days prior to his conviction on three drug related charges in relation to a 2009 incident in Florida.

Several singles have been released since Buju’s incarceration, including Set Up The Mic, Lose Your Love and Inna Half, the latter two singles produced by his son, Markus Myrie.

Buju is reportedly in transit at the Oklahoma City Federal Transfer Centre, having been transferred from a federal prison in Florida, where he as served the majority of his sentence to date.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/buju-banton-set-to-release-new-album-2014

Feds won't file contempt charge against juror in Jamaican reggae singer's drug trial

TAMPA, Florida
Federal prosecutors in Tampa won't file a criminal contempt charge against a juror in Jamaican reggae singer Buju Banton's 2011 drug trafficking trial.

U.S. District Judge James Moody said in June that jury foreman Terri Wright should face charges for doing independent research into the case during trial.

In court documents filed Wednesday, prosecutors said they planned to oppose Banton's latest appeal and could not prosecute Wright simultaneously. They suggested that the court appoint another prosecutor to pursue charges against Wright.

Banton is serving a 10-year sentence for convictions on cocaine conspiracy and trafficking charges stemming from a 2009 arrest.

Banton's attorneys have sought to withdraw from the case. Chokwe Lumumba was elected mayor of Jackson, Miss., last month, and Imhotep Alkebu-lan became special assistant to that city's attorney.


Source: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/buju-banton-feds-wont-file-contempt-charge-against-juror-in-jamaican-reggae-singers-drug-trial

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