By M. Jodee
OutAroad.com Writer
Despite the dyer fate that surround embattled Reggae superstar, Buju Banton, one organization claims that the artiste should not be subjected to his 10 year prison term.
The Buju Banton Letter Writing Campaign issued a letter last week; signaling their objective to secure the Grammy-winning singjay's release, via petition. The group hopes to attain 50,000 signatures to said petition by December 9, 2011; two years to the day Buju was initially arrested on drug-related charges in Florida.
The letter questions the validity of professional informant, Ian Johnson, who testified against Buju during his drug trials in an attempt to avoid significant jail time. In 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."
Johnson reportedly was paid US$50,000 following Buju's arrest in 2009 and has earned over $US 3.3 million for serving as an informant to a plethora of government agencies.
Meanwhile, the letter suggests the lead investigator in Buju Banton's case, Sergeant Dan McCaffrey of the Drug Enforcement Agency revealed that there was "no evidence that Buju was a drug trafficker and that their 13-month investigation yielded nothing."
"I urge you to investigate this matter and take the action necessary to correct this grave injustice," the letter concludes.
Buju Banton is serving a 10 year prison sentence in relation to a 2009 incident where he allegedly conspired to organize a drug deal within a police-controlled warehouse. He was convicted this past February on three drug-related charges from the incident; currently incarcerated at the Limestone County Correctional Institution in Groesbeck, Texas until February 1, 2019
