Photo Credit: Roc Nation; Lithera Forbes
Jay-Z is currently doing his part in the criminal justice reform debate by helping getting someone out of prison for marijuana charges. The man in question is 55 year old Valon Vailes who was sentenced to 20 years in 2007 for conspiring to possess and distribute over a ton of marijuana from 2003 to 2007. And on top of his sentence behind bars, he’s got another 10 years of supervised release. Why is this significant? Well how much money is currently being made right now with people making fortunes off of selling the very thing that sent him behind bars among many others. Oh, and the person is a fan of his.
Vailes wrote Jay Z a letter in February from New York’s Otisville Correctional Facility stating how he’s behind bars for what people are profiting from today which any rational person would recognize as unfair. His letter read, “This correspondence is a plea to ask for your help with the intent to campaign for my clemency. 13 and a half years is a long time to be still incarcerated over a substance that has become the ultimate green rush.”
FAMM: Non-Violent Man Locked Up For 20 Years For Marijuana: Free Valon M. Vailes – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/SkDxTtuIgZ via @Change
— Ant Da Baptist (@AntDaBaptist) September 29, 2021
He went on to talk about the effect it’s had on his family saying, “My family needs me home. While incarcerated, I have lost loved ones,” he explained. “My mother passed in 2020; my grandmother in 2009; my nephew in 2020. Also, my best friend died from COVID in 2021. I have four children, the youngest is 1.4, and 3 grand-daughters. A lot has changed in my life, but most importantly, I have a newfound view of society. Therefore, I pledge to my family, my children, and myself that my incarceration would not be in vain.”
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