No fight against wrongful conviction

Bunny Wailer was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but there is another 18 that figures in Fighting Against Convictions.

"Eighteen year later, after everything, I suppose to travel to the United States, to do my first tour as Bunny Wailer, solo artiste, and the officer who is the interviewer bring up that issue about being into prison for narcotics. You know how them feel bout that and granting a visa if you have been through them situations deh," Bunny Wailer said.

"This bredda jus' come up an sey him see it in a magazine, where I was sent to prison, so I have to go and get my record as to what nature of events took place by me going to prison in order that them can waiver it, if it is not something too serious like exportation," he said.

Wailer duly went to the Half-Way Tree Courthouse to check on the records. When it was found Wailer said, the person at the courthouse held it up and said, "'Fin' it eno Ras!'. But before him reach to me him say 'Yu did go a prison?' Me say 'Yeah!' Him sey 'Yu cyaa go a prison Ras!' Me sey 'No prison me go why them sen' me from embassy to see what nature the charge was.' Him say 'Yu cyaa go to prison Ras!'

Him sey 'Ras, look at this document. It say the case was withdrawn!'"

apologies

It was signed by a judge who had since died. The man queried how that could have happened, to which Wailer said he replied "You woulda haffi ask de system dat. I never even know sey this happen. Me jus a realise after 18 years I was falsely imprisoned".

Naturally, there were possibilities of lawsuits, but Bunny Wailer declined. There were apologies from the embassy staffer, too, Wailer said, who "instead of give me a little one-week work permit, them give me seven months".

Subsequent to that he had to go to get his police record for travel to Canada and Wailer said "when I go down a the police place there is no record. I don't have a police record, but I have a prison record".

"Them thing happen to Bunny Wailer and I have never really tried to pursue legal procedures in order to defend that wrong that was done to I by the judicial system," he said. Nor had he sought to publicise it. "Them sey sometimes let sleeping dogs lie. Is a statement we did learn from wi parents. From is not suppen that affect you within your progress and prosperity, low it! Sometimes people stress you to do things fe even destroy even yu own respect that you have. So we no bother get in them situation deh, although I was wronged and it painful. Out of evil come good, so I just look pon the good - the knowledge weh me acquire, the experience of being there, not hearing about it, but actually being there and stan' up as a man and don't bow to the almshouse and come out still stronger than me go in. Me jus' treat it sey is a good coming out of a bad," he said.

- Mel Cooke