NY governor pardons `Slick Rick'
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - May 23, 2008 Walters, 43, has been under threat of being sent back to his
native United Kingdom, although he has lived in the United States
since he was a child. In a statement, he expressed gratitude to
Paterson and his lawyers, and hoped that he could finally put the
turmoil behind him.
"This has been a long and difficult road and I am happy for
this to be settled once and for all," Walters said. "I look
forward to enjoying this time with my family and friends and to
continue leading an honest and productive life."
In announcing the decision, Paterson noted Walters' commitment
to helping young people.
The eye patch-wearing star behind '80s rap classics like
"La-Di-Da-Di" and "Children's Story" was a successful rapper
when he was convicted of shooting his cousin and another man in
1991. Both survived.
Although he had completed probation requirements in the
attempted murder case and resumed his musical career, he was
arrested again in June 2002. Immigration agents stopped him after
he returned to Miami from a weeklong Caribbean cruise where he was
a featured performer.
The arrest was on a 1997 Immigration and Naturalization Service
warrant that had not been pursued earlier, and he spent 17 months
in jail, despite calls for Walters' release from such luminaries as
the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Will Smith and Chris Rock.
A federal judge eventually ruled in October 2003 that the Bureau
of Immigration Appeals denied Walters' due process when it issued
the warrant, but Homeland Security officials pressed forward in the
case. In 2006, Walters told The Associated Press he was simply
going to keep working and play out his appeals.
"If you were in my shoes, how would you look at life?" he said
then. "You'd ride life out, too. Anger would just make life not
enjoyable, you know what I mean?"
The Democratic governor noted that Walters is now a rap artist
and landlord in the Bronx who has not had any other criminal
problems since his release from prison and has volunteered at youth
outreach programs to counsel against violence.
"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," Paterson said. "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."