Early Release For Buju Banton a Possibility
In an effort to reduce overcrowding, about 6,000 inmates are scheduled to be released from prisons in the United States beginning this weekend.
Buju Banton, one of Jamaica’s most popular dancehall and reggae musicians is currently approaching the halfway mark of his 10 year drug trafficking sentence.
In 2009 he was arrested on drug and firearms charges.
The firearms charges were dismissed in May 2015.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s effort to end overcrowding in prisons meant that certain inmates became eligible for early release as of November 1, 2015.
In 2014, the sentences commission moved to lower maximum sentences for non-violent offenders by an average of 18 percent. Around 16,000 inmates are expected to be freed within the first year, and 45,000 over the next several years.
Banton maintained innocence throughout his court ordeal. He was sentenced in 2011 and denied an appeal this past January. The jury foreman in his trial was found guilty of contempt last month.
Source: BET