Jamaican drug kingpin Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke has had 17 months shaved off his prison time in the United States (US) and could see more reductions, likely the reward for good behaviour, American authorities have disclosed.
Coke, 56, is halfway through his 23-year prison sentence and is set to be released from Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution on January 25, 2029, the US Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) confirmed.
His original release date was July 4, 2030.
Fort Dix, located in New Jersey, is a low-security prison with “no bars, towers or locks”, according to its website.
The reduction in Coke’s prison time comes amid uncertainty about whether the Shower Posse – the Jamaica-based criminal empire he reputedly led, which also operated in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom – remains potent or has been dismantled.
The FBOP declined to disclose details about Coke, explaining that for privacy reasons, it is barred from discussing the conditions of confinement of any inmate, including release plans.
However, the agency acknowledged that under the First Step Act (FSA), which was enacted in the US in 2018, every incarcerated individual earns time for good conduct, which is factored into their release date.
Prior to the passage of the FSA, qualifying inmates were eligible to earn up to 54 days of good conduct time annually for each year served, the bureau of prisons explained in an emailed response on February 18 to questions submitted by The Sunday Gleaner.
Under subsequent amendments to the legislation, qualifying inmates are now eligible for the maximum 54 days shaved off their time for good conduct for each year of the court-mandated sentence.
“The FBOP continues to prorate the amount of GCT (good conduct time) earned for the final year of service of the sentence,” the agency said, citing the provisions of US Penal Code 18, Subsection 3624 (b).
Good conduct time is awarded based on a determination by the FBOP that the qualifying prisoner displayed “exemplary compliance” with institutional regulations during the year under consideration, the section stipulates.
Further, the FBOP said the FSA allows eligible prisoners to earn time credits for successfully participating in and completing approved evidence-based recidivism reduction (EBRR) programmes or productive activities (PAs).
“Successful participation in an EBRR or PA means the individual has participated in the EBRR programs or PAs as recommended by the inmate’s individualized risk and needs assessment and has complied with the requirements of each,” the agency said.
Inmates may also get credit for time spent in custody before their date of sentencing, the FBOP said.
US law enforcement authorities have blamed the Shower Posse for more than 1,600 murders. It was co-founded by Coke’s father, Lester Lloyd Coke, widely known as ‘Jim Brown’, who died in a mysterious fire inside a Jamaican prison exactly 33 years ago – February 23, 1992 – while awaiting extradition to the US to face murder and drug trafficking charges.
Police spokeswoman Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay did not respond to questions submitted by The Sunday Gleaner on Friday about whether there is intelligence to suggest that the Shower Posse is one of 250 criminal gangs currently active in Jamaica.
“Let me find out from C-TOC and get back to you,” Lindsay said, making reference to the police’s Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Division.
There is also uncertainty about whether Coke wields any power in the violent Next Generation Gang, which is based in his west Kingston enclave of Tivoli Gardens and has been steadily growing in influence, top police officials revealed.
“My time in the west can only speak to the influence of the Tivoli Next Generation gang and, certainly, we are still seeing activities from the gang,” said one police official, charging that a number of persons from the Coke clan are among its ranks.
“I don’t know if he has any influence over them or if there is a connection with him and them,” he said, making reference to Christopher Coke.
Christopher Coke, who was also indicted by American authorities, waived his right to a hearing in Jamaica and was extradited to the US in 2010 to face drugs and racketeering charges. He pleaded guilty in August 2011.
He was arrested by the Jamaican security forces in June 2010, ending weeks of mounting tension across the Jamaican capital, triggered by the monthslong delay by the then Bruce Golding-led Government to authorise his extradition.
A month before his arrest, Coke mysteriously escaped his Tivoli Gardens stronghold after two days of fierce gun battles between the security forces and heavily armed thugs loyal to him.
When the shooting ended, 69 civilians and one member of the Jamaica Defence Force were killed in what was one of the darkest periods in modern Jamaican history.
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