Jay-Z is pursuing yet another initiative to fight back against systemic racism and the criminal justice system, and this time it’s extra personal. Hov and his legal team are battling the system that has kept fan Valon M. Vailes in prison over marijuana. Spiro has sent two appeals to a North Carolina judge to grant Vailes’ compassionate release.
Valon’s Story
A North Carolina resident, Valon Vailes was sentenced to 20 years in prison in December 2007 for the intent of distributing over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. The sentence requires an additional 10-year period of supervised release after Vailes has done his time. Currently, Vailes has served over 13 years of his sentence.
Vailes has been a fan of Jay-Z for years, and knows that he is a generous person. In a Wall Street Journal report, Vailes read the claim that Hov advocates for the “underprivileged and voiceless.” Subsequently, he wrote the rapper a letter in February from New York’s Otisville Correctional Facility. The letter read:
“This correspondence is a plea to ask for your help with the intent to campaign for my clemency. 13 and a half year is a long time to be still incarcerated over a substance that has become the ultimate green rush.”
Jay-Z Steps In
That letter caught Hov’s attention, offering an opportunity to give back to a fan who the law has treated harshly. The case is especially personal, as Jay-Z owns his own cannabis business, Monogram, and has built a brand campaign aimed at including people of color in the marijuana boom and expunging unfair sentences. Hov, his attorney, and his workers from Monogram all came together to support Vailes.
In August, Jay-Z’s attorney Alex Spiro filed a motion requesting a compassionate release for Vailes. However, U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney denied the motion due to Vaile’s COVID-19 vaccination record. Page Six reported the initial motion stated, “that Vailes had been ‘a model inmate,’ citing completed coursework and drug treatment, and added that Vailes’ family ‘desperately needs his support and assistance, and he does not present a recidivism risk.'”
Instead of giving up, Spiro filed a second motion on Wednesday, again calling for Vailes’ release. This file states, “Mr. Vailes has exhausted his administrative remedies with the [Federal Bureau of Prisons]; extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant a compassionate release in his case; the relevant factors support release; and Mr. Vailes is not a danger to the community.” In short, Vailes has done his time in prison, and the law has been unfair to the man.
Jay-Z’s actions have also drawn attention to an ongoing petition many are signing to support Vailes’ release. With large-scale support behind him, we can only hope Vailes’ will see some justice.
For more on Jay-Z’s activism, check out our page on his article about exposing Kansas City Police Department.
By Amandine Shadia, Twitter @ AmandineShadia
