Kartel may be freed soon

Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel may soon be released from prison in Jamaica, where he has been for over a decade, after the British government ruled that his conviction for murder should be quashed. 

Britain’s King Charles has signed off on the UK Privy Council’s decision to quash the murder convictions of the superstar Vybz Kartel and three other men. The ruling states that Jamaica must reimburse the four men all court costs.

Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, and the three others have been imprisoned since their arrests in 2011 for the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams, whose body was never found. Kartel and his co-accused Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St John had maintained their innocence since the original trial.

Kartel is one of Jamaica’s most popular artists and has collaborated with performers such as Jay-Z and Rihanna.

His 64-day trial was one of the longest in Jamaican history, and ended with Kartel being ordered to serve a minimum of 35 years in jail, later reduced to 32-and-a-half years.

The trial heard that Williams and another man, Lamar Chow, were given two unlicensed firearms belonging to Kartel for safekeeping.

When they failed to return them at an agreed time, prosecutors said, they were summoned to Kartel’s house in August 2011.

Chow told the trial they were attacked and the last thing he saw was Williams - who was never seen alive again - lying motionless on the ground.

The house burned down days later and a body was never recovered.

In a stunning decision out of London in March, the Privy Council stated their decision Interest in the UK Privy Council’s recent decision was so high that the heavy volume of online viewers crashed the courtroom’s live stream from London several times.

The Privy Council effectively kicked the case back to the Jamaican Court of Appeals.

Even though they are now “not guilty” innocent men according to the Privy Council, they have remained behind bars.

Legal experts believe there is enough reason to have a new trial, which means they will start the process all over again from the beginning with a new jury, perhaps new attorneys for the defendants, and perhaps a whole new set of facts and scenarios. Or there is a possibility they will release Kartel and the co-defendants.

Vybz Kartel’s attorney, Isat Buchanan, claimed the Court of Appeal has set a court date of June 10 through June 14 to decide whether to release the men or try to bring a new case.