Empire State Today

Amir Muhadith, formerly Chauncey Hawkins, a 45-year-old inmate in federal prison in South Carolina is deserving of clemency, says U.S. prison reform activist and former inmate Alice Marie Johnson.

Hawkins was well-known as “Loon,” and recorded with P. Diddy’s Bad Boy Records. In 2008, the same year that the drug conspiracy occurred, he left his music career behind and dedicated himself to Islam. He moved to Egypt in 2010 after changing his name to Amir Muhadith. 

According to Johnson’s letter, the inmate did not know about the charges against him. He even did an NCIC background check before moving to Egypt and twice went to the U.S. Embassy in Egypt. He was not notified of any problems during either visit.  He was arrested in Belgium in 2011 on charges related to the incident in 2008. He was sentenced to 168 months on July 15, 2013.

Since his incarceration began, he has only had two infractions: possession of an MP3 music player, and possession of a cell phone. Both infractions, he said, were categorized as “possession of a hazardous tool".

He is asking President Trump to commute his 135 month- (11 years, three months) sentence for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin. The trial court reduced his original sentence on Oct. 17, 2015, on account of amendment to the drug quantity table.

Muhadith is seeking clemency because of “a fundamental change in my life that began even before I was incarcerated, combined with a small role in the offense and a strong prison record,” he wrote in his application.

The change in his life, he said, was that he converted to Islam in 2008, and that changed everything. “I left behind drug dealing, my successful music career, my name, and even my home, as I moved to Egypt with my family to better learn my new faith,” Muhadith said.

He does admit playing a role in a narcotics operation but said that his role was not consistent with his sentence. 

“My involvement [as described in the pre-sentence investigation report] was limited to sporadic involvement in June and August of 2008,” he wrote as part of his petition.  

Muhadith says he has a plan for his release, including living with his family in Atlanta.