State Minister for national security, Senator Pearnel Charles Jnr, has reached out to a legal team and the Commissioner of Corrections, Ina Hunter, to clearly outline the laws in Jamaica relating to inmates recording music in prison.
The move comes days after Opposition Spokesperson on Youth and Culture, Lisa Hanna, suggested that incarcerated Dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel should banned form the airwaves and questioned if the self-proclaimed Worl Boss is recording new music from behind bars, “The issue where Kartel’s music keeps coming out more than any other person because i haven’t heard any new songs from Buju since he has been incarcerated, i think we need to get to the root cause of that,” she said.
Related: Broadcasting Commission Talks Vybz Kartel Music Being Playing After Lisa Hanna’s Comment
Charles Jnr says number of questions are now being asked, one of which is if an inmate who has appealed their conviction can use the studio under the rehabilitation programme. He says his aim is to provide Jamaicans with a clear interpretation of the laws and regulations relating to the prison system and inmates ability to recording music.
Speaking with the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday he added that the current Corrections Act will also be reviewed as some infractions are not covered, “Let’s use Adidja Palmer (Vybz Kartel) for example, let us say hypothetically that he was recording [without permission] and he was to send out, by Whatsapp, music to a producer. You don’t have evidence to prove it but you believe that it is happening, what do you do with the music?”
