Buju Banton officially moved to Florida’s Federal Correctional Institution

Olivia “Babsy” Grange, Minister of Culture, says she has been informed that incarcerated entertainer Buju Banton has been moved from Limestone County Correctional Institution Limestone County Correctional Institutionback to Florida to continue serving his prison sentence.

The Government, through its embassy in Washington, had made a formal appeal to the US authorities for Buju to be transferred to an appropriate facility in Florida.

In a statement on Thursday night, Miss Grange welcomed the transfer of the artiste to the Federal Correctional Institution in Southwest Miami.

She said concern was raised in light of reports about unsatisfactory conditions in Texas.

Relatives and friends of the Grammy artiste, whose given name is Mark Myrie, were concerned about his constant transfer.

His attorney, David Oscar Markus, says the iconic dancehall star went from Florida to Oklahoma to Texas, and back to Oklahoma.

A newspaper report in the US said plans to place Buju in a Mississippi prison fell through when authorities discovered that a co-defendant in the case had already been assigned to the facility.

The authorities then kept Buju in a Federal Transfer Centre in Oklahoma City before moving him to a correctional institution in Texas.

Meanwhile, The Gargamel Music family expressed great thanks to the Jamaican consulate, who immediately sent a representative to report first hand on the conditions in Texas, and to Judge Moody, who wrote a letter to the BOP on Buju’s behalf.

“We are especially thankful for Buju’s attorney, David Oscar Markus of Markus & Markus Law, who worked diligently with the prison in Texas, the Jamaican consulate, the Bureau of Prisons and The Court to make this unprecedented move happen,” Buju’s team said in a release.

Mr. Markus revealed that the Texas institution was used for short-stay Mexicans awaiting deportation.

Buju was one of very few black men at the facility.