According to the Gulf News various legal experts from the UAE feel that jailed super-producer Dallas Austin may be given a special pardon by the nation's Rulers Court.

As SOHH previously reported, the 34-year-old producer was arrested at the Dubai International Airport on May 19 on charges of possessing and bringing in illegal substances for personal use.

Austin was reportedly caught with 1.26 grams of cocaine and five and a half capsules of cocaine and an MDM drug at the time of his arrest. The renowned beat smith has been held without bail at a Rashidya police station in Dubai for more than a month.

During his past hearing, Austin approached the Ruler's Court for a special pardon.

"A special pardon is not reserved for celebrities but a matter of humane considerations, such as in the instances when a Ruler issues a group pardon on special occasion or religious festivals or due to special charitable grounds," lawyer Khalifa Al Salman explained to the Gulf News.

According to Al Salman, who served as a judge for eight years, "a Ruler's pardon exempts a defendant from the punishment but does not change the fact of being guilty and breaching the criminal law."

"A Ruler orders that a defendant be pardoned from serving a prison term but the defendant is not exempted from being deported in the nation's best interest," Salman told the Gulf News. "In Dallas's case we refer to him as 'a patient' and not as 'a criminal' especially that it's a case of possessing drugs for personal use and not for peddling. His act is considered as a crime against himself."

If he had been involved in peddling drugs he will not be granted a pardon since such crimes affect the society." added Salman. "The Ruler helps "a patient" by pardoning him from serving his term, but still the defendant will get deported".

If found guilty Austin could face a four-year imprisonment. His trial is scheduled to begin on Sunday.

Austin is best known for crafting beats for Michael and Janet Jackson, TLC, A Tribe Called Quest, Goodie Mob, Da BackWudz, and Kelis, as well as producing the films Drumline and ATL.

It is starting 2 look like a pardon is in the works. I hope so for his sake.

Graycap23 said:

yeah... i hope so... and keep his ass out of Dubai if he's gonna continue doing drugs

It´s a weird thought for me to know that both Michael Jackson and one of his producers hang out in places like Bahrain and Dubai, one of them in jail for owning drugs, and the other one in exile like Marvin in Belgium...

I hope he gets out safe.

Maybe MJ´s friends in Bahrain can help him.

Why do you hope he gets out safe? I would only hope that he gets a fair trial and treated fairly.



But it seems that you guys want him to be pardonned of his alleged crime(s) simply cos he's a celebrity. That's bollocks.

Graycap23 said:

I don't. I hope he's treated like every other non-celebrity who makes dumb (really dumb) mistakes all in the name of addiction.

KoolEaze said:

What can lil Bahrain kids do to help Austin?

chuckaducci said:

I believe nobody should get killed or end up in jail just because he uses cocaine and party drugs occasionally.


I am strictly against cocaine but keep in mind that he wasn´t going to sell them, he is just a consumer. The laws in that region are too strict.

Sure, it was dumb of him to do that but he probably wasn´t familiar with the drug laws in that country.

Too late, he's just been sentenced for 4 years.

So, no lost limbs, then.

Mong said:

and he was pardoned

Dallas Austin Receives Pardon On Four Year Sentence, To Be Deported From Dubai By Nolan Strong Date: 7/4/2006 8:43 am - allhiphop.com - 9 minutes ago

RipHer2Shreds said:

Look, this guys actually ADDS something positive 2 the world and society UNLIKE a lot of people. I agree that he should get what is coming to him but this is a BIT harsh.

chuckaducci said:

I'm not in favor of a full pardon so much as not seeing him face some of the more severe penalties that can happen in drug realated arrests in the region, especially since they've determined he wasn't trafficking. In other words, things like jail time, maybe some community service requirements. Getting caught in some of these jails in these regions can be pretty dangerous because they will beat the hell out of you and so on, and that's the only thing I wouldn't like to see happen. Since he wasn't trafficking, I'd like to see a humane form of punishment for him, but punishment all the same.

Ottensen said:

Yeah, precisely.

Graycap23 said:

What's harsh about him being treated like everyone else? I didn't wish death on the dude. Is it for us to determine that their drug laws are harsh?
[Edited 7/4/06 6:44am]

RipHer2Shreds said:

Prison SHOULD be for CRIMINALS. Just my 2 cents...that said, I wish the U.S. had some of those same laws. if the U.S. had some of those laws, the U.S. would NOT have the problems they have.

Graycap23 said:

And transporting drugs into another country is a crime. I'm not for imprisoning addicts, but I'm sure he's smart enough to know that bringing drugs into a foreign country is gonna get you in trouble. All he had to do was axe Paul McCartney. And the "this guys actually ADDS something positive 2 the world and society" excuse is just another way of saying "celebrity."



spelling edit
[Edited 7/4/06 6:50am]

RipHer2Shreds said:

I'm NOT going 2 argue with u. Celeberties and people with MONEY get special treatment. It's a part of the game. I agree with your position but that is the way it is.

Graycap23 said:

And was NOT arguinG with U. Just stating my position.

RipHer2Shreds said:

I dig.

Looks like he got the pardon. Hopefully after this experience, he'll learn to leave that drugs alone, its get you into some serious shit.

http://www.allhiphop.com/...s/?ID=5868