Dancehall entertainer Squash appears to have abandoned a civil suit he filed against the Bureau of Prisons in the United States in March seeking his immediate release.
The entertainer argued that his constitutional rights were being violated and that he was being barred from participating in sentence reduction programmes.
But a judge tossed the suit this week after the entertainer, whose given name is Andrae Maurice Whittaker, failed to respond to an April request from the court.
However, his release date was moved twice since he filed his legal claim.
Squash’s new release date is now December 11, 2026, a reduction of 15 days, in line with provisions under the First Step Act of 2018.
A total of 45 days have been shaved off the St James-native’s 27-month sentence since the start of the year.
Squash was sentenced to 27 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to being an alien in possession of a firearm or ammunition on November 24, 2025.
He is currently serving that sentence at the FCI Oakdale minimum-security prison in Louisiana in the United States.
On March 2 this year, Squash mailed a suit to the court in the Western District of Louisiana listing the facility’s warden and the Bureau of Prisons, who has broader jurisdiction over the facility, as defendants.
In his suit, Squash argued that he was being denied access to sentence reduction benefits available to inmates under the First Step Act and the Second Chance Act of 2008.
Under the First Step Act, eligible inmates can earn up to 15 days of sentence reduction for 30 days of participation in an eligible recidivism programme.
Squash insisted in the filings that he is a first-time, non-violent offender who is at low risk for recidivism and he should benefit from participation in sentence reduction programmes despite his immigration status.
He argued that he was stripped of his constitutional rights to the benefits by alleging the prison claimed there was a final order of deportation against him.
Squash strongly denied the claim, insisting there is an immigration hold against him. He says only an immigration judge can make a final order for deportation, and he has not had any hearing to that effect.
Immigrants who’ve been ordered removed from the US are not eligible to benefit from sentence reduction.
Squash was also seeking immediate release, claiming the Bureau of Prisons wrongly calculated his release date.
He claims that he should have been moved to pre-release custody on January 25, 2026 – two months after his sentencing – based on his calculations of how the First Step Act should have applied.
Though legal scholars indicate Squash’s calculations may be inaccurate.
Regardless, Squash’s petition is now moot.
The court received Squash’s suit by mail on March 6, and on March 16 they wrote to Squash, telling him he needed to refile his claim on the approved form for it to be considered.
The entertainer was also told that he didn’t submit a filing fee. He was given 30 days to address the matter.
On April 7, Squash paid the US$5 filing fee, but he never refiled the petition on the approved form.
This week, on July 16, Magistrate Judge Thomas P. LeBlanc struck Squash’s petition from the record.
The entertainer may already be benefiting from the provisions of the First Step and the Second Chance Acts.
Nationwide first reported Squash’s release date to be January 25, 2027. Since then, his release date was updated to December 26, 2026. His new releas date is December 11, 2026.
