CARLY SIMON - CARLY SIMON FIGHTS FOR JAILED PAL'S FREEDOM

CARLY SIMON is fighting to get a musician pal out of jail because she believes he was wrongly convicted of drug dealing.

JOHN FORTE, who produced THE FUGEES debut album, was handed a 14 year sentence three years ago (00) in Houston, Texas, after he was arrested in possession of cocaine.

Simon has teamed up with rap mogul RUSSELL SIMMONS in a bid to overturn Forte's sentence, and has just written an article for America's JANE magazine telling readers her pal's arrest and subsequent jail time is the result of a miscarriage of justice.

She writes, "He believed that a certain person with whom he'd been working in a New York City club would fund his new album if he delivered something for him that John thought was money.

"This has happened to me before, and there really was money, and payback and interest in the album that came as a result.

"So John believed this man wanted to produce a record for him, believed he was interested in his career.

"John is not a drug addict or a drug user or a drug dealer. But he is afraid."