Jay-Z is trying to free a man who’s been imprisoned on marijuana charges since 2007.
The rapper’s legal team filed a second motion to a North Carolina judge to free Valon Vailes after the first was dismissed, Page Six reports. The 55-year-old Vailes was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison with an additional 10 years of supervised release after being found guilty of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute over one ton of marijuana.
Vailes reached out to Jay by letter, where he asked for the rapper’s assistance in being freed. Vailes also showed a deep appreciation for Hov’s career and nonprofit work. “This correspondence is a plea to ask for your help with the intent to campaign for my clemency,” the letter read. “13 and a half years is a long time to be still incarcerated over a substance that has become the ultimate green rush.”
“A lot has changed in my life, but most importantly, I have a newfound view of society,” Vailes said. “Therefore, I pledge to my family, my children, and myself that my incarceration would not be in vain.”
Jay-Z’s lawyer Alex Spiro filed the first motion in August, which was dismissed because of Vailes’ COVID-19 vaccination record. Spiro wrote a second motion this week. “Mr. Vailes’ motion for compassionate release does not mention COVID-19 and does not rely on any COVID-19-related argument as a basis for arguing in favor of a reduced sentence,” Spiro argued. “Mr. Vailes has exhausted his administrative remedies with the [Federal Bureau of Prisons]; extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant compassionate release in his case; the relevant factors support release; and Mr. Vailes is not a danger to the community.”
Vailes has four children and three grandchildren and has lost a number of family members and friends since his incarceration. “It is a bittersweet reality that I am a casualty and a commodity of this system filled with injustice,” he wrote.
