Jay-Z Is Fighting to Free a Man Sentenced to 20 Years Over Weed

Page Six reports that the rapper's legal team has made two pleas to a judge in North Carolina for the "compassionate release" of Valon Vailes who is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Vailes, now 55, was found guilty in 2007 for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute more than one ton of marijuana from 2003 to 2007. His full sentence was 20 years in federal prison with an additional 10 years of supervised release.

In submitted court documents, Jay-Z's attorney Alex Spiro filed a second motion in which he asked the court to reconsider the previous request. It was dismissed because of Vailes' COVID-19 vaccination record.

"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 said.

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Jay-Z and his team first learned about Vailes' situation after the inmate wrote a letter to the rapper, believing that he would understand his situation since Jay-Z is the owner of the cannabis company, Monogram.

"This correspondence is a plea to ask for your help with the intent to campaign for my clemency," Vailes wrote. "13 and a half years is a long time to be still incarcerated over a substance that has become the ultimate green rush."

Elsewhere in the letter, Vailes explained why his family needed him home and also how he looks at life now.

"A lot has changed in my life, but most importantly, I have a newfound view of society," Vailes wrote. "Therefore, I pledge to my family, my children, and myself that my incarceration would not be in vain."

Spiro and Jay-Z are currently working to get Vailes released on a sentence of time served.

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