Imprisoned until 2019, Buju Banton has once again appealed his drug trafficking conviction, for which he is serving a 10-year sentence in the United States.
The appeal was filed on 4 February with the 11th Circuit federal appeals court in Atlanta (Georgia) by his lawyers, the high-profile Professor Charles Ogletree (who represented Tupac Shakur shortly before his death in 1996, and is close to the Obamas), Jack Cushman and Max Stern.
According to Charles Ogletree, Buju Banton (who has always claimed to have been set up by an FBI informant) did not receive a fair trial, pointing to the behaviour of juror Teri Wright, who had researched the trial and who handed the authorities a different hard drive from the incriminating one.
The appeal process could, however, take many months. Currently incarcerated in Miami, in a low-security prison, Buju Banton could be moved to another penitentiary. A request for him to remain in Miami has also been filed by his lawyers.
After his conviction in June 2011, Buju Banton had already appealed in December 2011, an appeal ultimately rejected in June 2012.
His release is scheduled for 3 January 2019.