Jamaican Dancehall Singer Vybz Kartel Freed After Nearly 13 Years in Prison

Jamaican dancehall singer Adijah “Vybz Kartel” Palmer has been released after nearly 13 years in jail.

Jamaica’s Court of Appeal ruled that Palmer and his three co-accused – Shawn “Shawn Storm” Campbell, Andre St John, and Kahira Jones – should not be retried for murder.

The four men were charged in September 2011 and convicted in March 2014 of murdering Clive “Lizard” Williams, with sentences of life imprisonment handed down in April 2014.

After losing their initial appeal in Jamaica’s Court of Appeal, they took the case to the Privy Council, which overturned their convictions in March. The Privy Council found that juror misconduct warranted a retrial after a juror admitted to accepting a bribe to influence other jurors.

However, the decision to retry the case was left to Jamaica’s Court of Appeal.

Delivering the judgment, President of the Court of Appeal Justice Marva McDonald-Bishop stated that the ruling was unanimous. Neither she nor Justices Paulette Williams and David Fraser supported a retrial, having carefully considered the matter.

“We conclude that the interests of justice do not require a new trial to be ordered for the appellant. We therefore make the following judgments and verdicts of acquittal are entered about the appellants,” Justice McDonald-Bishop said.

However, Jones will not be freed, as he also serves a sentence in an unrelated case.