Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch spoke up for a Grammy-winning rapper doing a 14-year drug sentence - a man who will be freed by Christmas, after President George W. Bush commuted his sentence this week.

John Edward Forte had recorded his own rap CDs, and was a producer for the Fugees. According to this Washington Post account, Forte was arrested in 2000 in Newark International Airport with two briefcases containing 31 pounds of liquid cocaine. A first-time offender, the 33-year-old Forte received a minimum prison sentence of 14 years.

Thanks to the commutation, Forte (whose supporters have maintained a web site calling for his freedom) will be released from prison at Fort Dix, N.J., on Dec. 22 - though he will continue to serve five years' probation.

Hatch and singer Carly Simon were among those who advocated leniency for Forte. In a January 2007 letter to Bush, Hatch wrote, "Now is the perfect opportunity for John to be given the chance to provide positive benefits to society through his considerable musical talents."

UPDATE: The Tribune's Robert Gehrke filed this excellent account of how Hatch, via Carly Simon, got involved in Forte's case.

Labels: George W. Bush, Orrin Hatch