Dancehall Artiste Vybz Kartel and Co-Accused Freed

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Court of Appeal on Wednesday afternoon, freed dancehall artiste Vybze Kartel, whose given name is Adijah Palmer when it unanimously decided against ordering a retrial for the 2011 murder of Clive Lizard Williams. 

Vybz KartelThe court also freed Kartel’s co-accused, Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St. John.

The decision was made by a three-judge panel, including Justices Marva McDonald-Bishop, Paulette Williams and David Fraser.

The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Marva McDonald Bishop in announcing the unanimous decision said despite facts of the case showing “barefaced defiance of law and order”, the court had to consider other factors, such as the length of time the men have already been in custody and the psychological and health impact on the appellants if a new trial were to be ordered.

Defence lawyers, particularly for Vybz Kartel, had cited the artiste’s declining mental and physical health, noting his Grave’s Disease diagosis.

Lawyers representing the quartet made an appeal to the local Court of Appeal in 2020, but their convictions were upheld.

Their appeal was then taken to the United Kingdom-based Privy Council, and on March 14, their murder convictions were overturned on the grounds of juror misconduct.

The Privy Council then remitted the case back to the Jamaica Court of Appeal to decide whether there should be a retrial.