 Rapper Shyne was supposed to be released last week, after serving nine years in prison for a 2001 nightclub shooting in New York City. However, things are on hold while officials decide whether or not the rapper (real name: Jamal Barrow) should be deported back to his native country Belize, where his father is the Prime Minister.
Shyne's father, Dean Barrow, recently spoke out about his son's dilemma, revealing that he's written to New York Governor David Paterson, asking that his son be pardoned, so that he isn't deported.
"Obviously all sorts of things are happening in the States and it is clear a move is afoot to deport him and it is also clear that he is seeking to resist that, but I am sure where the legal processes are at this juncture," Dean Barrow said, according to Belize's Channel 7 Daily News.
According to reports, the Barrow family has sought help from Charles Ogletree -- a Harvard law professor and a member of President Barrack Obama's inner circle -- to assist Shyne in resisting deportation to Belize. He told reporters on Friday (October 9) that he's yet to receive a response from the New York governor.
"I have not had a response," he said. "I have spoken to people close to the governor and I have been assured that the letter has been received and that it is under active consideration. But I can't say that I am able to call in any favors such that would guarantee that he is able to remain in the States."
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities are expected to make a decision on the matter next week.
Shyne has served nine years of a 10-year sentence in connection with a shooting at a New York nightclub in 2001 involving Bad Boy label head Diddy, and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez.
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