Jamaican
dancehall
artiste
Vybz
Kartel
born
Adidja
Azim
Palmer
has
finally
found
freedom
after
thirteen(13)
years
behind
bars
for
murder
together
with
some
others.
Vybz
Kartel
now
48
years
old
was
arrested
in
2011
for
possession
of
cannabis
but
an
additional
murder
charge
was
brought
against
him
and
was
convicted
in
2014.
He
was
charged
and
accused
of
killing
Clive
“Lizard”
Williams
in
Jamaica
but
the
musician
had
always
maintained
his
innocence.
The
case
was
resolved
not
to
return
to
court
by
Jamaican
appeal
judges
on
Wednesday,
which
meant
Kartel—who
is
reportedly
in
terrible
health—could
be
discharged.
During
his
2014
trial,
it
was
revealed
that
Kartel
had
supplied
two
illegal
firearms
to
victim
Clive
Williams
and
another
man,
Lamar
Chow,
to
keep
him
safe.
Prosecutors
claim
that
in
August
2011,
they
were
called
to
Kartel’s
home
after
they
neglected
to
return
them
by
the
scheduled
time.
Chow
said
throughout
the
trial
that
they
were
attacked
and
that,
when
he
woke
up,
he
found
Clive
Williams—who
was
never
seen
alive
again—lying
on
the
ground,
unmoving.
Days
later,
the
house
caught
fire,
and
his
body
has
never
been
located.
Kartel
has
consistently
argued
his
innocence,
as
have
his
co-accused
Shawn
Campbell,
Kahira
Jones,
and
Andre
St
John.
However,
they
were
found
guilty
and
given
life
sentences,
with
Kartel
being
informed
that
he
would
at
least
serve
35
years
behind
bars.
Before
bringing
his
case
to
the
Privy
Council
in
London,
which
acts
as
the
highest
court
of
appeal
in
Jamaica
and
other
Commonwealth
nations,
he
initially
appealed
to
Jamaican
courts.
A
juror
who
was
accused
of
attempting
to
bribe
others
ought
to
have
been
disqualified
from
the
trial,
according
to
his
defence
team.
In
March,
the
London
court
found
in
favour
of
Kartel’s
case
and
declared
that
the
juror’s
decision
to
remain
on
the
panel
compromised
Kartel’s
conviction.
One
of
the
three
judges
sitting
in
Jamaica’s
Court
of
Appeal,
Justice
Marva
McDonald-Bishop,
stated
on
Wednesday
that
they
had
considered
the
“egregious
nature
and
seriousness
of
the
offence”
in
relation
to
the
amount
of
time
that
had
passed,
the
difficulty
in
obtaining
witnesses
and
evidence,
and
the
high
cost
of
a
retrial.
She
added
that
Kartel
was
in
“declining
health”
and
that
his
mental
and
physical
health
would
be
impacted
by
a
fresh
trial.