Known as one of the greatest artists in the dancehall game, Vybz Kartel is a musical mastermind. He’s created timeless songs like “Fever”, “Summertime”, and “Clarks'” that are classics around the world. Despite being in prison for almost 10 years Vybz has continued to still come out with hits.
It was announced on Thursday, May 30th that Vybz Kartel (Adidja Azim Palmer) and his three co-conspirators Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St. John were denied bail and will not walk free leading up to the days of the hearing. On June 10th the Jamaica Court of Appeals began a hearing that lasted 5 days and decided whether or not he would have a retrial. Vybz and his co-accused started a retrial on July 31st for the murder case of Clive “Lizard” Williams. After 1 day of retrial, it was officially announced on July 31st, 2024 that Vybz Kartel will finally be let free after a decade behind bars.
So, many fans have wondered what is the story behind Vybz Kartel and why has he been behind bars for so long.
The alleged incident occurred in August 2011 at Vybz Kartel’s home in Kingston Jamaica, While it is not exactly clear why the fight occurred, it is said to have involved the misplacement of two firearms that were owned by Vybz.
The prosecution case was that the deceased was given two unlicensed firearms belonging to Vybz. It alleged that Vybz Kartel gave Clive "Lizard" Williams a deadline of 8.00 pm on 14 August 2011 to return them, with which he failed to comply. After an altercation due to “Lizard” not complying, the deceased was never seen again and calls to his mobile phone went unanswered.
Vybz Kartel and the 4 co-defendants maintained their innocence. Vybz maintains that he was not at the house at the time of the suspected murder. The body of Clive "Lizard" Williams was never found and the prosecution's claims are based on a witness who claims to have been a former associate of Vybz Kartel.
Vybz also referred to the fact that the then minister of national security publicly blamed him as one of the factors“mashing up Jamaica.” He claimed that this was harmful to his defence.
After 64 long days in trial which is the longest trial to take place in Jamaica's history, on April 3rd, 2014 Vybz Kartel was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Vybz’s legal team has been hard at work since his imprisonment to get a successful appeal.
They are arguing that evidence was obtained in a breach and the trial that took place should be considered a mistrial due to the fact that the judge mishandled several jury incidents.
The first incident was when one juror came into contact with the defence team, this was dismissed by the judge as mere coincidence.
The second incident was when one juror tried to bribe other jurors in an attempt to influence the outcome of the trial.
This happened to be the same juror who had a previously “unintentional” encounter with a member of the defence team.
The final incident was a threat directed at one of the jurors. The juror claimed that her son who was in the Horizon Adult Correctional Centre was threatened by one of the defendants.
After an attempt at an appeal at the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom, a decision was made for a retrial. That the case should be remitted to the Court of Appeal of Jamaica.
Since his arrest, Vybz still continues to release music from his prison cell. It's become a mystery how the dancehall king gets access to recording equipment and sessions since Jamaican prison officials have denied granting him any special treatment.
The legal team, fans and the family of Vybz Kartel all believe that he was wrongfully convicted and are happy to see him be able to be a free man again.
The world is in celebration now that the Worl’boss is a free man.
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