John Forte - ProfilesArchive

About Me

John Forte's life was forever changed in July of 2000. He agreed to transport a package that he believed held money, and in turn was arrested on a drug trafficking charge. He did not accept the plea bargain offered him, as he maintained that he was innocent of the charges against him.In 2001, John FortÃ© stood trial in a Texas court and was convicted of this non-violent crime. It was his first offense. Due to the outdated mandatory minimum sentencing laws currently in place, he received the only prison term available for the judge to hand down - 14 years in a federal penitentiary. John is not eligible to be released until he is at least 38 years old.Much of the awareness surrounding the Former Fugees case is related to his surrogate mother, singer Carly Simon. When John turned 13, he won a full scholarship to the prestigious Exeter academy. After graduation, he was introduced by a mutual friend to Simons son Ben Taylor. From there, the Brooklyn native became a part of the family.As family, Simon defends Forte passionately and now fights for a repeal of the mandatory minimum drug laws that remove a judges discretion in a case. "I'm prepared to fight this until the last possibility is exercised. Judges have lost a lot of their power because of mandatory minimums. I think the judge in John's case was extremely frustrated by having to go by them and likely would have given John a much lesser sentence if it wasn't for the mandatory minimums.", Simon said.Many judges (both liberal and conservative) agree. They say the rules leave them unable to use their own discretion in evaluating individual cases. Even Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court calls them "harsh and unjust."**************************************************** ************************************************************ ************Discography: I, John*Poly Sci* Also Appears on:Coolbone Brass Band Brass-Hop 1997*The Fugees The Score 1996 (Producer, Drum Programming)* Greatest Hits 2003 (Producer, Drum Programming)*Michael Jackson Blood on the Dance Floor: History 1997(Rap)*Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival Featuring 1997*Mad Cobra Cobra 2001 (Producer)*Princess Superstar Last of the Great 20th Century 2000 (Vocals)*Carly Simon Bedroom Tapes 2000 (Bkgrd vocals)*Shelly Streeter Shelly Streeter 1997 (Photography)*The Temptations Phoenix Rising 1998 (Remixing)*Original Soundtrack Office Space 1999

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/10/2005
Band Website: freejohnforte.com
Band Members: All messages written to John are transcribed and sent to him via snail mail, as he has no computer access. I am taking care of this page while he is away. Please do not post comments containing advertisements of any kind, graphics, or requests for him to listen to your music. John can't listen to your music or check out your websites at this time, so it's best if comments left are for him directly. Due to the high volume of such things I kindly ask that you respect that request! John loves getting your messages, and I assure you he reads them all! Thank you for your love, kind words, support and understanding! Let's pray he returns home soon.
Influences: Ben Taylor's new album, Another Run Around The Sun, features a song entitled: Digest, which was written specifically about Ben's adjustment to the fact that his best friend, John FortÃ©, is locked away in prison and can't continue the journey they started together."I started writing this with my friend John FortÃ©, who's in jail. We started with the chorus: "I've been forced to digest this wasteful emptiness/I'm supposed to laugh as if there's nothing going on/I know life goes on regardless/nothing's been the same since you've been gone." I had gotten that hook and he had finished some of the most incredible verses when he got taken away. It's open to debate, how much of this crime he did or didn't commit, but he certainly doesn't deserve a jail cell for the next ten years." -Ben Taylor------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------.. I edited my profile at Doobix.com
Myspace Layouts
Sounds Like: Spread The MessageWe currently have a number of items for sale at Cafe Press, with more coming soon.A small percentage of the sales price goes to fund John's Official Website. We've purposely kept the prices of items down so that they are affordable.It's important to get the message out there!------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------
Record Label: Sony (Poly Sci), Transparent (i, John)
Type of Label: Major

My Blog

Help John!

John’s best friend, Ben Taylor has created a special web site to help gain awareness of the plight of those incarerated under the mandatory minimum sentencing laws. You can listen to an intervi...
Posted by John Forte on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:23:00 PST

John Forte’ on YouTube

You can check out John in an old school music video by going to www.youtube.com and typing his name in the search area. It is the first video that comes up. I would add it to the page but at the artis...
Posted by John Forte on Mon, 21 Jan 2008 02:43:00 PST

To The Young

Babies, use your voices, no matter how nascent and crackling. The concerns of the complacent are not yours. They feel small to the world, unworthy to a greater world and civilization. (This is a perv...
Posted by John Forte on Sat, 15 Sep 2007 10:43:00 PST

Surfs Up

Imagine the fulcrum as actual, neither figurative nor metaphorical, but occupying the very tangible plane upon which we currently find (or lose) ourselves. To stand atop the "point of perfection" t...
Posted by John Forte on Sat, 01 Sep 2007 11:09:00 PST

So Tonight That I Might See

So Tonight That I Might See Admittedly, I cannot remember the characters and the plots and the twists and turns of all the books I've read, but I continue reading. Why? What's the point?...
Posted by John Forte on Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:20:00 PST

What's Going On?

"What's going on?" you ask. Bear with me. It is possible to breathe this air, to view these sights, to hear these noises, and yet when asked the above question, respond with that dagger of curtness ...
Posted by John Forte on Tue, 12 Jun 2007 01:22:00 PST

"Untitled" ("Blinded")

Blinded I amThese daysBy the blue light of transient foraysYes Ma'am Blinded, ergo, I squintEngrossed by the throwing of runesThe sun crossed the moonI saw God's footprint Blinded by error and trialJ...
Posted by John Forte on Tue, 01 May 2007 11:53:00 PST

The Natural and the Mystic

There is something in the air. Dreams of late have been vivid and colorful. Memorable, too. One fantastic world has seeped into another. Waking conversations have been inspired by somnambulant...
Posted by John Forte on Tue, 20 Feb 2007 02:46:00 PST

Eternal Reflection

Time requires its toll from everyone. For the past few weeks, I have felt myself stretched in so many different directions. The desire to sit still and write was there it always is unfortunately,...
Posted by John Forte on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 07:36:00 PST

Free John Forte

In 2001 John Forte was convicted on a non-violent first offense drug charge. He was 24 years old. He was given the mandatory minimum, 14 years in a state penitentiary. John will not be eligible for re...
Posted by John Forte on Sun, 26 Nov 2006 02:25:00 PST