Dancehall artiste Squash has suffered a setback after a U.S. federal judge dismissed his civil suit seeking immediate release from prison, but the ruling comes as his projected release date has been moved forward once again. Updated Federal Bureau of Prisons records now show the Jamaican artiste, born Andrae Maurice Whittaker, is now scheduled to leave federal custody on December 11, 2026, bringing his release forward by another 15 days. While the revised date marks another positive development for the deejay, immigration proceedings are still expected to determine what happens after he completes his sentence.
The latest twist follows a civil petition Squash filed in March against the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the warden of FCI Oakdale in Louisiana, where he is currently serving a 27-month sentence after pleading guilty in November 2025 to being an alien in possession of a firearm or ammunition. In the lawsuit, the entertainer argued that prison officials were wrongly denying him access to sentence reduction programmes under the First Step Act of 2018 and the Second Chance Act of 2008. He also claimed his constitutional rights were being violated after prison officials allegedly treated him as though he had already received a final deportation order, something he strongly disputed.
However, the case never advanced. Court records show Squash was instructed to resubmit his petition using the court’s approved filing form after it was received in March. Although he later paid the required US$5 filing fee, he failed to refile the claim within the deadline. As a result, Magistrate Judge Thomas P. LeBlanc dismissed the petition on July 16. Legal observers have also questioned the entertainer’s interpretation of the First Step Act, including his claim that he should have been transferred to pre-release custody as early as January 2026.
Despite the legal setback, Squash’s release timeline has continued to improve. His projected release date has now been reduced by a total of 45 days since the beginning of the year, having moved from January 25, 2027, to December 26, 2026, and now to December 11, 2026. The latest adjustment appears consistent with sentence credit provisions available under the First Step Act, suggesting the entertainer may now be benefiting from the very programmes that formed the basis of his legal challenge. Even so, the Jamaican star’s legal journey is far from over, with deportation proceedings still expected to begin once he is released from federal custody, leaving fans waiting to see where the next chapter of his career will unfold.
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