Def Jam R&B artist "Slick Rick" Walters' has had a campaign started to urge the US Immigration and Naturalization Service INS to allow him to return to New York while his legal problems are sorted out.
Def Jam R&B artist "Slick Rick" Walters' has had a campaign started to urge the US Immigration and Naturalization Service INS to allow him to return to New York while his legal problems are sorted out.
His label has started a "Free Slick Rick" campaign on its Web site, requesting fans to sign a petition to back Walters. Rapper/actor Will Smith, comedian Chris Rock, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and New York state Sen. David Paterson have all shown their support by writing letters to the INS.
British-born Walters, 37, has legally been a resident of the U.S. since moving to the country in 1976 with his parents, but never gained citizenship.
In 1990, in New York, he shot and wounded two people in what was described as self defence against a violent attacker and was convicted of attempted murder in the second degree. He served more than five years in prison, during which time he released the albums "The Ruler's Back" (1991) and "Behind Bars" (1994).
Following his January 1996 release, the INS sought to deport Walters under a U.S. law that requires the deportation of any non-citizen who serves more than five years in a U.S. prison.
In an Attempt to enforce this law, INS officials arrested the artist more than eight weeks ago in Florida, and pending an immigration hearing, he has been held by the INS in Florida because he has been deemed a "flight risk."
