Grammy-award winning reggae star Buju Banton legal battle continues. According to the Tampa Bay Times, on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge James S. Moody Jr. ordered Terri Wright, the juror accused of misconduct to return to court on June 26. The judge has also ordered Buju Banton (aka Mark Myrie) to also be present for the hearing.
The hearing is pursuant to Buju’s legal defense team being given access to Ms. Wright’s hard drive to determine if there were any internet searches conducted during his trial. If proven, this could lead to a determination of juror misconduct and possibly a new trial. Unfortunately, the computer search didn’t prove helpful for Buju. The defense team is now suggesting that the hard drive surrendered is not the correct source.
Banton’s attorney, Imhotep Alkebu-lan believes the searches may have been conducted on a laptop not a computer. Alkebu-Ian submitted court filings regarding this issue and this will be addressed at the June 26 hearing amongst other things.
As the hearing continues, and Buju’s time served continues to add up, one begins to wonder is there more that can be done on Buju’s behalf? Recently, I read a blog by Tosha Rodney. Rodney, a Florida attorney by trade happens to be of Jamaican descent and eloquently considered whether or not Jamaica has given enough support to their beloved reggae icon, Buju Banton. The article is timely and thought provoking and I wanted to share it with my readers: Buju Deserves Jamaica’s Support
Buju could benefit from the full diplomatic support of the Jamaican government. Buju was brazenly entrapped by a paid U.S. government informant .i.e. Buju was set up. This informant’s only task was to embroil Buju in a drug case that would undoubtedly lead to his imprisonment.
For the record, I don’t know if there has been any diplomatic intercessions made by the government of Jamaica but if it hasn’t already occurred, I believe Buju’s case warrants such intervention. Additionally, we need the cultural and reggae ambassadors of Jamaica and the Caribbean Diaspora to continue to make noise and put pressure on the Jamaican government, the U.S. government and its officials.
RedCarpetShelley.com will continue to follow Bujus case, and advocate for Buju until he is released. #FreeBuju
