Filed under: News, Profiles, Race and Civil Rights
It appears that reggae singer Buju Banton dodged a big bullet when his drug trial ended with a hung jury Monday evening. After beating charges that could have landed Banton in prison for the rest of his life, the question for the popular reggae star is whether he will use good sense and steer clear of legal problems or waste his good fortune?
Banton was on trial this week in Florida on charges of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. It isn't clear whether the popular dancehall singer will face additional drug charges in this case.
Banton testified earlier this week that he was only boasting when he told an undercover officer of his plans to become a big-time coke dealer. Banton said he hoped to impress a man whom he believed had major contacts in the recording industry.
The excuse sounds a little flimsy to me, but it was good enough to raise reasonable doubt for some jurors.
Now Banton will have to decide how he will live out the rest of his days.
He only has to look at football players Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens and retired Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson for examples on how to conduct himself.
Both Lewis and Simpson are among the greatest football players ever. And both also got in to some serious legal trouble that could have sent them to prison for a long while.
Lewis was involved in a fight that ended in the stabbing deaths of two men in 2000. Lewis and two friends were indicted on murder charges, but Lewis beat the charge and pled guilty to a misdemeanor.
The important part of the Lewis story for me, however, is that since he beat that rap, Lewis hasn't been involved in any mess. No domestic violence, no drunk driving, no spitting on the sidewalk, nothing.
Now think about how O.J. Simpson handled the gift of freedom he received in the "Trial of the Century" when a jury acquitted him of two murder charges in 1995.
Simpson was arrested for battery and burglary in 2000. He got acquitted. Then he was arrested for speeding in 2002 and paid a fine. Then he was busted for using illegal electronic devices to steal cable television and was ordered to pay $33,678 in penalties.
Finally, Simpson's luck ran out when he led a group of men to a Las Vegas hotel and took sports memorabilia at gunpoint in 2007.
Simpson was found guilty in 2008 and was sentenced to 33 years in prison with the possibility of parole in nine.
The message is simple: Sometimes life gives you a second chance. Lewis made the most of his. O.J. is behind bars.
If Banton's common sense matches his singing talent, he will follow the Lewis model.