In spite of reports that reggae singer Buju Banton was getting an early release from prison, those reports have been confirmed as rumors by Rosemary Duncan, who coordinates the Buju Banton Defense Support Committee. In October 2015, the United States Justice Department announced it would release some 6,600 prison inmates early in order to alleviate overcrowding in some facilities. Included in this number were individuals who received harsh sentences for drug offenses. About one-third of those slated for early release were foreign citizens, but they did not include Banton. Banton was convicted on cocaine charges in 2011 and is serving a mandatory 11-year sentence at a federal facility in Georgia. He is scheduled for deportation to Jamaica in 2019.