Reggae.be

late we hope da hij wordt vrijgesptoken hé
zou echt een diepte punt zijn als hij in de cel moest vliege...

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100106/lead/lead4.html

Uit de Jamaica Observer 10/02/2010

New trial date for deejay Buju Banton's conspiracy case

The court date for deejay Buju Banton, who's in prison awaiting trial on drug and conspiracy charges, has been pushed back to April. It was anticipated that the trial would have started in March.

According to David Markus, the attorney representing embattled Reggae singer, Buju Banton's case was re-scheduled to ensure that it continues without a break.

"It has been pushed back because there were so many conflicts. The prosecution's agent will be having a baby in March and April 12 is the only date convenient for all parties," Markus told Chat!.

Banton was arrested at his Tamarac home in South Florida after Federal Agents accused him of negotiating with undercover agents to purchase five or more kilograms of cocaine at Sarasota in Tampa, Florida.

The agents claim to have footage showing the artiste tasting cocaine in a Federally controlled warehouse.

Markus could not confirm reports that prosecutors will be trying to bolster their case against the artiste by flying in witnesses from Jamaica to testify against him.

"The prosecution is not obligated to show a witness list and they have not shown us one," Markus said.

The postponement of the start of the trial means Banton will have to spend another month in jail, as he opted to waive his right to a bail hearing. If Banton made bail he would immediately be re-arrested by US immigration authorities who have revoked a travel waiver he used during his extensive US tour last year to promote his album, Rasta Got Soul, which was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Markus intends to prove to that the US Government entrapped his client into purchasing cocaine and had used a paid informant to inveigle him for almost a year.

Markus also intends to get the prosecutors to reveal the name of the paid informant and how much he was paid to trap the artiste.

Ites,
Rebel

Uit The Jamaica Star 23/03/2010

Buju punished for sharing food - Lawyer says he is being targeted by warders

An act of kindness by Jamaican reggae singer Buju Banton while being detained in the Pinellas County Jail in Florida has resulted in him being confined in the maximum security wing of the penal institution and has contributed to him losing around 40 pounds, according to his lawyer David Markus.

That's the claim included in an eight-page bond application filed to the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, on Sunday by Markus.

The court will hear Markus' emergency application for bond on Friday. Markus said he hopes to have Buju returned to the non-maximum security unit or have him transferred to immigration custody.

Buju and two alleged co-conspirators have been in custody in the United States since last December when they were charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine and aiding and abetting the carrying of a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime.

SHARED A MEAL

The lanky Rastafarian, who is a vegetarian, reportedly shared a meal with a fellow inmate, which is a violation, and was sent to the maximum security wing for at least 30 days. Markus said he was made aware of the situation on March 18.

Since being transferred, Markus said Buju, born Mark Myrie, has been unable to prepare his own meals and "has not been provided with a diet in accordance with his religious views".

In the bond application, Markus also intimated that his client might be the victim of personal attacks by the warders.

"Mr Myrie has been moved from floor to floor in the jail without explanation and treated differently than the other inmates. The decision to place Mr Myrie in a maximum security wing weeks before his upcoming trial suggests that something else is going on," said Markus in his application, which included a footnote naming a corporal "who has had it out for Mr Myrie during his entire stay".

The attorney added that the violation was a minor one not fitting the punishment and that "in sum, Mr Myrie is now in a maximum security wing for caring enough to offer food to another inmate who was hungry and genuinely believing there was nothing wrong in doing so".

DEFICIENCIES

Food and nutrition consultant Dr Heather Little-White said if Buju were not getting his desired meal, he could be losing an average of two pounds per week. This would result in his "mental frame not being as strong and he would become physically weak".

"He would also have deficiencies in vitamins and minerals and would need to be examined by a doctor. Until proven guilty, his likes and dislikes should be taken into account," said Little-White.

Markus said Buju's transfer to maximum security has been affecting his client mentally and physically and, by extension, the legal team's preparation for the start of his trial on April 19.

"For example, this week when counsel attempted to visit Mr Myrie, counsel was required to wait over two hours until he could see Mr Myrie," he stated in his application.

In a radio interview yesterday, Markus said the delay was a ploy to derail his team from winning the trial but that he was "optimistic and we are going to fight this".

Buju's arrest in Florida in December came at the tail end of a troublesome year, which included a number of cancelled concerts in the USA brought on by gay rights groups and an out-of-court settlement with former common-law wife Lorna Strachan after she filed a suit in the Supreme Court against him.

Ites,
Rebel

Uit de Jamaica Gleaner van 28/09/2010:

Jamaican superstar Buju's retrial set for December

Jamaican reggae artiste Buju Banton born Mark Myrie, is to face a retrial on drug charges in Florida in December.

Judge Tim Moody made the ruling this afternoon, hours after the 12-memeber jury which was hearing the case ended their third day of deliberation saying they could not reach a verdict.

The judge then declared a mistrial.

The judge is to decide tomorrow whether Buju is to be granted bail. This morning, the foreman of the twelve-member jury indicated that jurors were split on whether to convict or free Buju on drug charges.The foreman had sent a note to US District Judge James Moody. Under US law all the members of the jury must be in agreement for a verdict to be reached in a drug trial.

However, this morning the jury foreman reported that six jurors had found the Jamaican reggae star guilty with the other six saying he was not guilty.

Judge Moody then instructed the jurors to continue their deliberations telling them to take as much time as they wanted. The judge also said none of the jurors should surrender their conscience decision. However, the jurors later returned to the judge still without a consensus. The judge then declared a mistrial and ordered that the matter be set for re-trail sometime in December.

Come tomorrow, the judge is to hear a bail application filed by Buju’s lawyer David Markus. Buju has been held in jail since December last year when he was arrested on drug and firearm charges.

Ites,
Rebel

FLORIDA, USA – Reggae star Buju Banton was found guilty on three charges by a 12-member panel of jurors a short while ago at the United States Sam M Gibbons Federal Court here in Tampa.

The artiste was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilogrammes of cocaine, of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offence and using the wires to facilitate a drug-trafficking offence.

However he was found not guilty attempted possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

The artiste hugged his lawyer David Markus when the verdict was read.

Many of the artiste's supporters left the courtroom crying. He has been detained and has had his bail revoked..

BRON: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/

http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/cultuur%2Ben%2Bmedia/muziek/110222_banton

http://yawdtalk.com/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=610

Dat leest inderdaad als hardcore gangster business, en dan nog van het foute soort: de jamaicaanse maffia in Florida in de Steven Seagal films! If you go out, then please do it in style :-)

Buju Banton krijgt normaal gezien op 23 juni aanstaande te horen tegen hoeveel jaar cel hij aankijkt. In een laatste poging het vonnis nog te beïnvloeden lanceerden de advocaten van Buju deze week nog een hoop oproepen van de kinderen van Buju en enkele celebrities waaronder Stephen Marley en acteur Danny Glover.

Meer details in onderstaand artikel uit de Jamaica Observer

'Please spare our dad' — Buju's kids appeal to judge
Reggae artiste’s kids, Danny Glover, NBA star Etan Thomas, Stephen Marley write to judge urging compassion

Sunday, June 12, 2011

'PLEASE, spare our dad.' This is the emotional plea from four of the 15 children of Grammy Award-winning artiste Buju Banton to Judge Jim Moody ahead of the reggae artiste's sentencing on gun and drug-related charges on June 23 in the Sam M Gibbons Federal Court in Tampa Florida.

The siblings' letters for mercy form part of a document filed last week by Banton's legal team seeking a reduced sentence for the Jamaican artiste, who is facing 15 years to life behind bars. The letters are also among others penned by the likes of renowned actor Danny Glover, NBA player Etan Thomas, Vibe Magazine editor-at-large Rob Kenner and reggae artiste Stephen Marley.

Reggae artiste Buju Banton and members of his legal team heading to court in Tampa, Florida for his retrial in February this year. (Photo: Paul Henry)

In their letters, the children pour out their hearts, as they explain what their father, whose real name is Mark Myrie, means to them.

"My father is a great person. He always make us smile when he is around...," said Jahazeil, 14. "I love my father so much. He always care about us and encourages us to do the best we can and I miss him because there is no father like him."

Banton's daughter Jodian, who at 21 is the artiste's eldest child, noted in her letter: "My father is a very hardworking man who puts a lot of time — basically his entire life — into his music and family."

Seven-year-old Jahleel, in his letter, said: "My father was always there for me and I will be there for him. He was the only person that understands the way I feel... My father is the world to me, and I am to him."

Eighteen-year-old Shadai described her father as "the backbone of my family".

She added: "Without him many things would not be possible. He is there for myself, my sisters and brothers, both financially and emotionally. He motivates each of us when we feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders. How then could we picture a comfortable life without our main source of comfort?"

Banton was convicted in February on charges of conspiracy to distribute five or more kilogrammes of cocaine, possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and using the wires to facilitate a drug-trafficking offence. The conviction follows a first trial in September of last year which ended without the jurors being able to reach a verdict. He was arrested in December 2009, resulting from a covert operation.

Last Thursday, Banton's legal team filed the document asking for a sentence below the mandatory minimum of 15 years behind bars, which the lawyers are contending would be cruel and unusual punishment.

In his letter to the court, Glover describes himself as a friend of Banton's, and noted that the artiste is "considered one of the most influential reggae musicians" and that his "Grammy-Award winning music" addresses every aspect of life and "feeds the heart, mind, body and soul, bringing a message of hope". "Not only is Mr Myrie a great musician with a great deal of work ahead of him," Glover added, "he is also a role model, philanthropist, and spiritual leader of the community."

Noted Kenner of Vibe Magazine: "He is religious and has travelled to the Holy Land to attend prayers in Golgotha Ethiopian Monastery, Jerusalem. Mark Myrie is one of the leading voices of his generation. His music sheds light on such issues as the unrelenting violence and abject poverty pervasive in the Third World."

Meanwhile, Marley, the son of reggae icon Bob Marley, said that Banton was like a brother to him and asked the judge to be "compassionate to Mark".

Thomas, who plays for the NBA team Atlanta Hawks, described Banton as "an extremely positive inspiration" in his life and "countless people around the world, especially black men".

Said Thomas: "...His music helped keep me out of trouble and encouraged me to perform to the best of my ability, no matter the challenge. ...It is for this reason I hope to have Mr Myrie included as one of the fathers... in my book on fatherhood: a guide to being a good father. Mr Myrie willingly accepted to participate without any request for financial gain. He is truly a humble man who makes himself accessible to all who reach out to him."

Ites,
Rebel

En morgen Mavado voor de rechter. Rude boyz!
http://iriefm.net/index.php/home/ebuzz/6991/MAVADO-FACES-COURT-

... ZONDE dat de artiest Buju nu (even) verdwijnt, hij droeg de laatste jaren echt een positieve boodschap uit. Maar ik zou de mens toch NOOIT beschouwd hebben als een ware rasta, dan heeft pakweg een Richie Spice veel meer krediet.

Buju komt uit Salt Lane, een deel van Denham Town, een van de beruchtere ghetto's in west Kingston. Hij claimde wel rasta te zijn, en ik geloof dat hij dat ook was, maar in de badman/ghetto variant die nu wijd verspreid is in Kingston en jamaica. Dat hij betrokken is bij illigale praktijken verwonderd mij niet, maar wel dat hij zo'n risico's neemt in de US. Hij heeft geen geldtekort, en in Florida zijn de straffen nogal streng. Ik vind eigenlijk dat hij nog goed wegkomt als schuldig verklaard te zijn...

Ik weet niet hoe eerlijk het proces was (zwart en zuiden van USA?), maar als hij terecht veroordeeld is, dan heb ik no mercy. Coke is vuiligheid die al veel van mijn vrienden kapot gemaakt heeft, en mij ook bijna meehad, en ik vind het niet erg dat men hard tegen de dealers en groothandelaren optreed. Moest het nu nog weed zijn...

Maar jammer vanuit muzikaal standpunt is het uiteraard wel. Hij was juist weer goed bezig.

Zou misschien toch al binnen 6 jaar vrij kunnen zijn...
http://worldareggae.com/reggaeyard/buju-banton-could-be-out-in-six-years/

Update uit The Gleaner van woensdag 21/09/2011

2019 release date for Buju

Mark 'Buju Banton' Myrie, the reggae icon, who became one after converting to Rastafari, will be in prison until February 2019.

The information is according to the examiner.com. The United States Bureau of Prisons website confirmed the official release date.

There were rumours Buju would serve six years when time served and good behaviour were taken into account.

However, those rumours were answered by the confirmation, as the website explained that time served and lenience for good behaviour had already been included in the calculation of the release date.

"... the bureau's official release date set for February 2019 includes the time the prominent reggae entertainer served in prison prior to and between his two trials within the last year," the website reported.

Examiner.com went on to interview David Rowe, a professor and highly regarded attorney-at-law, who explained that Buju Banton has been given credit for 16 per cent of "federal gain time", that is time that he serves while not violating federal rules behind bars. Should he violate the rules, Buju's sentence could be extended.

Buju was sent to prison after being convicted of three drug-related charges in February. The charges came as a result of a December 2009 incident in which he allegedly conspired to organise a drug deal within a police-controlled warehouse.

The 'Driver A' hitmaker was slapped with a 10-year sentence.

Examiner.com also pointed out that Buju's lawyer, David Markus, was not planning to go away any time soon, and would be appealing the ruling.

Buju has yet to officially begin serving his time. According to the website, he is listed as in transit as he is expected to be sent to a federal prison in Mississippi.

Ites,
Rebel

Nog een korte update uit The Jamaica Observer van zaterdag 24/09/2011


Buju moved to Texas

REGGAE artiste Buju Banton will serve his ten year prison sentence at the Limestone County Correctional Institution in Groesbeck, Texas. Banton was moved from a holding facility in the state of Oklahama by air to the facility on Friday.

He spent more than a month at the Federal Transfer Center (FTC) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma after being moved from the Pinellas County Jail in Tampa, Florida.

Banton, whose inmate number is 86700-004, is set to be released on February 1, 2019.

Ites,
Rebel


Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Buju-moved-to-Texas#ixzz1YuSvRH00

Uit The Jamaica Observer van 14/11/2011


Bid on to FREE BUJU

AN organisation committed to getting reggae singer Buju Banton released from prison, has crafted a letter it hopes will end up on the desk of United States attorney general Eric Holder.

Last week, the Buju Banton Letter Writing Campaign (BBLWC) issued a letter saying its objective is to have 50,000 signatories by December 9, two years to the day Buju was arrested on drug charges in south Florida.

The letter questions the June 23 guilty verdict that sent the 37-year-old entertainer to prison for 10 years. Buju, whose real name is Mark Myrie, presently incarcerated at the Limestone County Correctional Institution in Groesbeck, Texas.

According to the BBLWC's letter, Buju "was charged as a result of information provided by a professional informant, Ian Johnson, who relentlessly pursued Buju for six months to participate in a drug deal. The professional informant in Buju's case is a convicted drug trafficker".

During the trial, it was revealed that the informant has been granted legal immigration status in the United States and has earned over US$3.3 million (tax free) for serving as an informant to various government agencies. Despite his earnings, Johnson testified that he does not pay taxes, does not pay his credit card bills and has declared bankruptcy.

Furthermore, during the trial, the lead investigator on the case, Sergeant Dan McCaffrey of the Drug Enforcement Agency stated that there was "no evidence that Buju was a drug trafficker and that their 13-month investigation yielded nothing".

The letter concludes: "I urge you to investigate this matter and take the action necessary to correct this grave injustice".

Buju — best known for songs like Browning and Driver and the epic 1995 album, Til Shiloh — was convicted in February of conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute it.

He was also convicted on another drug trafficking offence as well as a gun charge. He was acquitted of a fourth charge for attempted cocaine possession. He was found guilty in a second trial. The first ended in September 2010 when the jury was unable to reach a verdict.

Much of the prosecution's case was based on video and audio recordings taken by an informant and by Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

The informant was reportedly paid US$50,000 after Buju's arrest.

Ites,
Rebel

Uit de Jamaica Observer van 30/11/2011

Buju on the move

IMPRISONED dancehall artiste Buju Banton continues to play musical chairs during the first phase of his 10-year prison sentence.

Buju — whose real name is Mark Myrie — was found guilty on drug charges in a Florida court on June 23 and is presently incarcerated at facility in Groesbeck, Texas.

Since his incarceration, the artiste has been transferred from Florida to Oklahoma to Texas, and back to Oklahoma. The Sun Sentinel newspaper in Fort Lauderdale reported yesterday that the Grammy winner will soon be en route to the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami.

Arrangements to place the artiste in a Mississippi prison went awry when prison officials discovered that a co-defendant in the case was already housed there.

Authorities then stowed the artiste in a Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City before moving him to Groesbeck.

David Oscar Markus, Buju’s lawyer, is concerned about the current facility.

“He was at one of the worst places you can imagine — a county facility that had been converted to house federal inmates,” Markus said in the Sun Sentinel report.

“The place was used for short-stay Mexican nationals who were going to be deported,” he added. “It was filled with Mexican gangs. Buju was one of very few black men in there. It was really violent.”

In February, Federal judge James S Moody found the artiste guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, just days after he won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album. The artiste won the award for his 2010 album Before the Dawn.

Both 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.

Ites,
Rebel

Uit The Jamaica Observer van 16/12/2011

Buju files appeal

LAWYERS representing imprisoned Reggae artiste Buju Banton today filed an appeal to have his conviction reversed in the United States Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit in Georgia.

The attorneys — David Oscar Markus, Mona Markus, Anita Margot Moss and Marc Seitles — are contending that Banton's conviction should be reversed and the case should be dismissed with prejudice or that he should receive a new trial.

Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, was sentenced in June this year to 10 years' imprisonment by United States magistrate Jim Moody in the Sam M Gibbons US Court in Tampa Florida. He was found guilty of conspiring to negotiate a drug deal in a police controlled warehouse in Florida.

The lawyers are contending that the district court erred in failing to grant Myrie’s judgment of acquittal as a matter of law, where:

The undisputed evidence is that Myrie did not agree to participate in the drug conspiracy that eventually was reached among others;

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;

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; and

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

The attorneys are also contending that the district court erred in failing to find that Myrie 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.

They will also argue that Myrie demonstrated reluctance to participate in a drug conspiracy and 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.

Setting aside excludable days, the 70-day clock expired in this case, 93 days before Myrie was initially tried, more than double the amount of time permitted by the Speedy Trial Act, the lawyers will also argue in their bid to free Buju Banton, who is now languishing in a Miami, Florida-based prison.

Ites,
Rebel