Jay-Z’s Team Roc Claim Feds Refuse To Release Inmate Over Some Chicken

Jay-Z and Team Roc have suffered a setback in their attempt to get a reduced sentence for Valon Vailes.
TMZ spoke to Team Roc lawyer Alex Spiro about the latest developments in the case.

“They’re not looking at him like a human being and they never were,” Spiro said. “He’s an African American man who gets a 20-year sentence for weed.” 

The lawyer then pointed to the disparity in the system, “That same case handled by different lawyers, in a different jurisdiction, if there was more empathy for the person being charged…if he was whiter, if he was different in a number of ways, maybe he gets 5 maybe he gets 8.” 

Furthermore, the attorney explained that federal prosecutors now refuse to release Vailes over two minor infractions during his 15 years behind bars.  

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Team Roc Says The Feds Are Denying Vailes his Moment In Court

He continued, “I just don’t believe they view him as an independent human being worthy of independent assessment.” He said the court is not giving Vailes applications the proper attention because they view him as simply “an inmate number” and cannot identify with him. He concluded by saying the feds are denying him “his due moment in court.”  

Additionally, TMZ reports that while Team Roc says Vailes is eligible for compassionate release, the new court filings reveal the feds have turned him down over some “ticky-tac” prison rule violations. The government says in the filings Vailes once snuck some left-over chicken from the mess hall into his cell and also used his prison uniform as “workout equipment.” 

AllHipHop reported on the case of Valon Vailes who is serving a 20-year sentence for intent to distribute weed. He reached out to Jay-Z and Team Roc to help him appeal his sentence. He wrote to Hov about his frustration at the hypocrisy of a system that now allows for billions to be made from legalized cannabis.  

Team Roc’s lawyers are asking the judge to reduce Vailes’ sentence to time served and release him immediately.