Let’s get the story straight

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Dear Editor,
We are alarmed at the recent stories in both the Sunday Observer and Sunday Gleaner
of December 13, regarding the arrest in Florida of dancehall artiste Mark Myrie, better

known as Buju Banton, on a charge of intent to traffic in cocaine.
Our concern relates to the manner in which the background of the stories pointed to the ongoing challenges between Banton and gay rights groups across the United States which have sought to
ban his entry and performance in their country. We find it unfortunate that an article
about a brilliant artiste being charged with such a crime could so disingenuously be
turned into one about him being victimised by the so-called gay community.
It is important for us to remember that Buju was arrested when the police linked five kilos
of cocaine to him. It is this charge that should be at the focus of the story which was
reported. We believe that framing the story against the backdrop of gay organisations’
protests against him provides the clear basis for insinuating that Banton’s most
unfortunate experience could in some way be linked to the international gay
community. Such a link is not only false, it is irresponsible.
We wish to declare publicly that we support Banton’s right to be defended and believe
that he is innocent of the charge until proven guilty. We also wish to make what might

be deemed a very controversial point: that while some drug use, particularly that of
cocaine, has ravaged many black communities across the Americas, adults have the
right to decide whether or not they use drugs and should not be criminalised for doing
so. At the same time, we are not unmindful that traffickers, pedlars and users have
turned brother against brother, and allowed thugs to terrorise our families, kill our
police and witnesses to heinous crimes, and dons to corrupt our political and social
systems. Perhaps we may need to bring to the centre of this discussion the question of
whether and in which circumstances personal choices should be criminalised.
So let’s get the story straight. Buju Banton has promoted, through his lyrics, hatred of homosexuals and has called for people who are homosexuals to be murdered. He has never renounced or regretted
any these abuses of his privileged position. He did all of this on his own. He is now
facing the consequences of actions totally unrelated to gays and lesbians in a
community that has long come to recognise that human beings are born in dignity and
with rights and obligations to themselves and one another. We hope that common
sense and a commitment to truth will triumph over stereotypes and a rush to
condemnation.
Jason McFarlane
J-FLAG
PO Box 1152, Kingston 8 

I think you need to take your concerns to the international forums that included Buju’s lyrical genius as a part  of their story. Now that you and your fellow world wide organizations have pointed a finger at Buju and the world has answered back by pointing the finger back at you guys…It is now a concern right? Things will get violent now that people are accusing members of the gay community who first were the ones to bash this man’s reputation instead of just plainly reporting the story… Jackass say di world nuh level right?

———————————————————————————————————–
Stand by Buju

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Dear Editor,
With the world accepting that Buju Banton is homophobic, can he get a fair trial in America?
The US is a country that deals with due process. In the Magna Carta, due process is referred to as “law of the land” and “legal judgement of peers”

The rights of every Jamaican citizen must be protected by the Jamaican government and it needs to give attention to the matter of Buju Banton in a Florida jail

Buju needs 30 days’ speedy trial and a public defender. Where is the Jamaican consulate? The consulate must respond to the needs of Jamaican citizens in Florida

Rev Joan Porteous

[email protected]

Joan , your letter is short but it speaks volumes as to what needs to be done!

Buju: Setup Or Stupidity?

By Hamilton Nolan on December 16, 2009 at 1:32 AM

Reggae star Buju Banton is in a very tenuous PR situation right now, with a Grammy nomination under fire from gay rights groups, but that did not stop Buju from trying to buy five goddamn kilos of cocaine. Allegedly!

He and two other guys were arrested last week, and now the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has released its version of the story, in which a snitch told them earlier this month that Buju et al “wanted to purchase kilogram amounts of cocaine in the Sarasota area of the Middle District of Florida”. Yeah, while you’re in Sarasota, pick up some coke, OK? So the DEA stone-cold set them up, undercover style. Allegedly:

“Thomas subsequently utilised a knife to cut open the noted [kilogram] of cocaine and began to inspect, along with Myrie, the cocaine. Thomas subsequently handed the knife to [Buju] who instantly wiped the blade of the knife with his finger and placed that finger in his mouth in what appeared to be an attempt to taste the cocaine,” the document stated.

Well that is one of the god damn stupidest career diversifications I’ve ever heard of. Allegedly! Because lots of fans are crying conspiracy – maybe from the gay mafia, dying to get back at him for years of homophobia (um, doubtful), maybe from the Feds, or some… shady government people (you never know! Remember what happened to Bob Marley).

He could very well get locked up for more than 20 years. Buju. Oh Buju. Bad timing.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm00645.htm

MI FREN GI MI DI LINK N LOOK

Entrapment is a complete defense to a criminal charge, on the theory that “Government agents may not originate a criminal design, implant in an innocent person’s mind the disposition to commit a criminal act, and then induce commission of the crime so that the Government may prosecute.” Jacobson v. United States, 503 U.S. 540, 548 (1992). A valid entrapment defense has two related elements: (1) government inducement of the crime, and (2) the defendant’s lack of predisposition to engage in the criminal conduct. Mathews v. United States, 485 U.S. 58, 63 (1988). Of the two elements, predisposition is by far the more important.







Inducement is the threshold issue in the entrapment defense. Mere solicitation to commit a crime is not inducement. Sorrells v. United States, 287 U.S. 435, 451 (1932). Nor does the government’s use of artifice, stratagem, pretense, or deceit establish inducement. Id. at 441. Rather, inducement requires a showing of at least persuasion or mild coercion, United States v. Nations, 764 F.2d 1073, 1080 (5th Cir. 1985); pleas based on need, sympathy, or friendship, ibid.; or extraordinary promises of the sort “that would blind the ordinary person to his legal duties,” United States v. Evans, 924 F.2d 714, 717 (7th Cir. 1991). See also United States v. Kelly, 748 F.2d 691, 698 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (inducement shown only if government’s behavior was such that “a law-abiding citizen’s will to obey the law could have been overborne”; United States v. Johnson, 872 F.2d 612, 620 (5th Cir. 1989) (inducement shown if government created “a substantial risk that an offense would be committed by a person other than one ready to commit it”.






Even if inducement has been shown, a finding of predisposition is fatal to an entrapment defense. The predisposition inquiry focuses upon whether the defendant “was an unwary innocent or, instead, an unwary criminal who readily availed himself of the opportunity to perpetrate the crime.” Mathews, 485 U.S. at 63. Thus, predisposition should not be confused with intent or mens rea: a person may have the requisite intent to commit the crime, yet be entrapped. Also, predisposition may exist even in the absence of prior criminal involvement: “the ready commission of the criminal act,” such as where a defendant promptly accepts an undercover agent’s offer of an opportunity to buy or sell drugs, may itself establish predisposition. Jacobson, 503 U.S. at 550.


[cited in USAM 9-18.000]

this is the original article http://gawker.com/5426777/buju-setup-or-stupidity

(AP) – 3 hours ago

MIAMI — Reggae star Buju Banton’s attorney says his client “vigorously denies” charges that he tried to buy a large amount of cocaine from an undercover police officer.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Herbert E. Walker III said he looks forward to representing Banton in court, but he would not discuss the case further.

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration affidavit says Banton and two others traveled to Sarasota last week to make the purchase.

Walker said Banton “vigorously denies these allegations.” The Jamaican reggae singer is in federal custody in Miami.

Banton, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie, faces a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

PEOPLE UNNO RUN DI BLOG LINK TO EVERYBADDY UNNO KNOW… A BUJU WE SAYYYYYYY

mi a try find info bout di lawyer but in the mean while

http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/33141-fl-herbert-walker-1251305.html

Herbert Williams

Buju: Setup Or Stupidity?

By Hamilton Nolan on December 16, 2009 at 1:32 AM

Reggae star Buju Banton is in a very tenuous PR situation right now, with a Grammy nomination under fire from gay rights groups, but that did not stop Buju from trying to buy five goddamn kilos of cocaine. Allegedly!

He and two other guys were arrested last week, and now the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has released its version of the story, in which a snitch told them earlier this month that Buju et al “wanted to purchase kilogram amounts of cocaine in the Sarasota area of the Middle District of Florida”. Yeah, while you’re in Sarasota, pick up some coke, OK? So the DEA stone-cold set them up, undercover style. Allegedly:

“Thomas subsequently utilised a knife to cut open the noted [kilogram] of cocaine and began to inspect, along with Myrie, the cocaine. Thomas subsequently handed the knife to [Buju] who instantly wiped the blade of the knife with his finger and placed that finger in his mouth in what appeared to be an attempt to taste the cocaine,” the document stated.

Well that is one of the god damn stupidest career diversifications I’ve ever heard of. Allegedly! Because lots of fans are crying conspiracy – maybe from the gay mafia, dying to get back at him for years of homophobia (um, doubtful), maybe from the Feds, or some… shady government people (you never know! Remember what happened to Bob Marley).

He could very well get locked up for more than 20 years. Buju. Oh Buju. Bad timing.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm00645.htm

MI FREN GI MI DI LINK N LOOK

Entrapment is a complete defense to a criminal charge, on the theory that “Government agents may not originate a criminal design, implant in an innocent person’s mind the disposition to commit a criminal act, and then induce commission of the crime so that the Government may prosecute.” Jacobson v. United States, 503 U.S. 540, 548 (1992). A valid entrapment defense has two related elements: (1) government inducement of the crime, and (2) the defendant’s lack of predisposition to engage in the criminal conduct. Mathews v. United States, 485 U.S. 58, 63 (1988). Of the two elements, predisposition is by far the more important.







Inducement is the threshold issue in the entrapment defense. Mere solicitation to commit a crime is not inducement. Sorrells v. United States, 287 U.S. 435, 451 (1932). Nor does the government’s use of artifice, stratagem, pretense, or deceit establish inducement. Id. at 441. Rather, inducement requires a showing of at least persuasion or mild coercion, United States v. Nations, 764 F.2d 1073, 1080 (5th Cir. 1985); pleas based on need, sympathy, or friendship, ibid.; or extraordinary promises of the sort “that would blind the ordinary person to his legal duties,” United States v. Evans, 924 F.2d 714, 717 (7th Cir. 1991). See also United States v. Kelly, 748 F.2d 691, 698 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (inducement shown only if government’s behavior was such that “a law-abiding citizen’s will to obey the law could have been overborne”; United States v. Johnson, 872 F.2d 612, 620 (5th Cir. 1989) (inducement shown if government created “a substantial risk that an offense would be committed by a person other than one ready to commit it”.






Even if inducement has been shown, a finding of predisposition is fatal to an entrapment defense. The predisposition inquiry focuses upon whether the defendant “was an unwary innocent or, instead, an unwary criminal who readily availed himself of the opportunity to perpetrate the crime.” Mathews, 485 U.S. at 63. Thus, predisposition should not be confused with intent or mens rea: a person may have the requisite intent to commit the crime, yet be entrapped. Also, predisposition may exist even in the absence of prior criminal involvement: “the ready commission of the criminal act,” such as where a defendant promptly accepts an undercover agent’s offer of an opportunity to buy or sell drugs, may itself establish predisposition. Jacobson, 503 U.S. at 550.


[cited in USAM 9-18.000]

this is the original article http://gawker.com/5426777/buju-setup-or-stupidity

(AP) – 3 hours ago

MIAMI — Reggae star Buju Banton’s attorney says his client “vigorously denies” charges that he tried to buy a large amount of cocaine from an undercover police officer.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Herbert E. Walker III said he looks forward to representing Banton in court, but he would not discuss the case further.

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration affidavit says Banton and two others traveled to Sarasota last week to make the purchase.

Walker said Banton “vigorously denies these allegations.” The Jamaican reggae singer is in federal custody in Miami.

Banton, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie, faces a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

PEOPLE UNNO RUN DI BLOG LINK TO EVERYBADDY UNNO KNOW… A BUJU WE SAYYYYYYY

mi a try find info bout di lawyer but in the mean while

http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/33141-fl-herbert-walker-1251305.html

Herbert Williams