Wow, this came out of nowhere. NY Governor David Paterson has
granted Slick Rick a full pardon.
Governor David A. Paterson announced today that he has
granted Ricky Walters a full and unconditional pardon of his 1991
attempted murder and weapon convictions, in order to allow Walters to
seek relief from deportation from the federal immigration courts. Mr.
Walters, who was born in the United Kingdom, was lawfully admitted to
the United States at age 11, and he was raised in the Bronx. At the
time of his crimes, Mr. Walters was a newly-famous hip-hop artist known
as “Slick Rick,” who has since been credited with being a pioneer in
the development of hip-hop as a mainstream musical genre. Walters was
incarcerated for six years, and was released from prison in 1997.
“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,” said Governor Paterson. “In that time, he has
volunteered at youth outreach programs to counsel youth against
violence, and has become a symbol of rehabilitation for many young
people. Given these demonstrated rehabilitative efforts, 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.”
Mr. Walters faces deportation under a federal statute that mandates
the removal of a lawful resident alien upon conviction of an aggravated
felony or a weapon offense. For certain offenses removal can be avoided
by a Governor’s pardon, but for weapon offenses, even after receiving a
pardon, a non-citizen must seek discretionary relief from deportation
from the immigration court. Mr. Walters was granted such relief by an
immigration court in 1995, but that decision was later vacated because
the Board of Immigration Appeals issued its decision 33 days after the
expiration of a statutory deadline. Mr. Walters has been unable to
re-apply for discretionary adjustment of his immigration status because
of his attempted murder convictions, but he will be eligible to do so
as a result of the Governor’s pardon.
In 1991, Mr. Walters pleaded guilty in Bronx County Supreme Court to
two counts of attempted murder and eight weapons offenses arising from
an incident in which Walters shot his cousin and an innocent bystander,
both of whom survived the shooting. Walters’ cousin had made previous
threats against Walters, and Walters believed his cousin had arranged
at least one previous attempt on his life. Mr. Walters, who was 25
years old at the time of the incident, was sentenced to a term of 3⅓ to
10 years in prison. He was released to parole in 1997, and was
discharged from parole supervision in 2000.
In June 1995, an immigration judge terminated deportation
proceedings against Walters and granted him a waiver of inadmissibility
and an adjustment of status that allowed Walters to remain in this
country despite his convictions. The judge’s decision was based on,
among other things, the “unusual and outstanding equities” of his case.
Later that year, the Board of Immigration Appeals found that this
relief “appears to be in the best interest of the country,” but the
Board later vacated its decision on a technical ground – that it had no
authority to act because on the day of its decision, Walters had served
five years and 33 days in prison, 33 days more than statutorily
permitted for a waiver of inadmissibility. Walters’ legal challenges to
this decision have been unsuccessful, and he could soon be deported,
unless the immigration courts agree to reconsider his request for
adjustment of status in light of the Governor’s pardon.
Mr. Walters, who is now 43 years old, has lived in the Bronx without
incident since his release from prison in 1997. He is presently
employed as a landlord and rap musician. Mr. Walters has a wife and two
children, all of whom are American citizens.
