| Slick Rick Gets Governor's Pardon |
|
|
|
| Written by West Brown | |
|
After years of deportation woes, hip-hop legend Slick Rick has finally been pardoned by New York's Governor and will be allowed to stay in the Bronx where he has been a resident since the age of 11.
“Mr. Walters has fully served the sentence imposed upon him for his convictions, had an exemplary disciplinary record while in prison and on parole, and has been living without incident in the community for more than 10 years,” said Governor Paterson. “In that time, he has volunteered at youth outreach programs to counsel youth against violence, and has become a symbol of rehabilitation for many young people. Given these demonstrated rehabilitative efforts, I urge federal immigration officials to once again grant Mr. Walters relief from deportation, so that he is not separated from his many family members who are United States citizens, including his two teenage children.”
Paterson, the first legally blind and the first black governor of New York, was sworn into office in March 2008 after his predecessor, Eliot Spitzer resigned in the wake of a highly publicized prostitution scandal. Slick still faces deportation under a federal statute that mandates the removal of a lawful resident alien upon conviction of an aggravated felony or a weapon offense. Since it was a weapon offense, Slick still has to go to the immigration court for relief. He was granted such relief in 1995, but it was later viewed as null and void since the Board of Immigration Appeals issued its decision 33 days after the expiration of a statutory deadline. Now that he's received the pardon from the Governor, the "Children's Story" emcee is eligible to re-apply. |
