Thousands of fans continue to scream, “Free Di Worl Boss,” as Dancehall legend Vybz Kartel successfully wins his appeal and overturns his murder conviction after being sentenced to life in prison in 2014.
RELATED: Prayers: Vybz Kartel Suffering From Graves’ Disease And Heart Conditions, Lawyer Says
According to FOX 5 NY‘s Lisa Evers, on Thursday (March 14), the United Kingdom’s Privy Council appealed the Jamaican rapper’s conviction. Now, the Dancehall icon’s case will be sent to a lower court to decide whether or not he will be retried for murder. Vybz Kartel is set to appear next in a court of appeals in Jamaica.
Speaking on Kartel’s overturned conviction, his attorney Isat Buchanan stated, “A huge statement was made by the quashing of the murder convictions and that is where we are at. Yesterday Mr. Palmer was a convicted felon, today he is an innocent man.” Buchanan said Kartel is hopeful and despite everything, still has faith in the court system, and that justice will prevail.
Buchanan added, “In terms of Mr. Palmer, he’s hanging in there, in terms of, at best both the private physician and the physicians from the government are doing their best with the reality of how best to manage his treatment.”
In 2014, Kartel, born Adidja Palmer, was convicted for the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams. Kartel was convicted alongside Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St John. During the murder trial, it was reported that a juror allegedly attempted to bribe other members by offering them $500,000 JMD to sway the outcome of the case.
The U.K.’s Privy Council reported that despite the allegations, the trial carried on, resulting in the conviction of Vybz Kartel. During Thursday’s court hearing, the council ruled that Kartel’s conviction should be overturned on the grounds of juror misconduct.
The council’s statement read, “The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has concluded that the appeals should be allowed and the appellants’ convictions should be quashed on the ground of juror misconduct and that the case should be remitted to the Court of Appeal of Jamaica to decide whether to order a retrial of the appellants for the murder of the deceased.”
For years, Kartel has maintained his innocence. His overturned murder conviction arrives after the iconic spent more than a decade locked up, and after being diagnosed with Graves disease and a heart condition, made public in May 2023. Kartel’s conviction is said to have arrived mostly on circumstantial evidence including video and phone records from his BlackBerry Torch and a discredited witness.
Kartel’s attorney Isat Buchanan said, “The Court of Appeal in Jamaica prepared three particular questions for the board to consider it concerns their telecommunications evidence, jury management issues, and an additional one for jury tampering.”
FOX 5 NY also reports that they reviewed a British forensic expert’s findings, which included “serious questions about phone evidence, among other issues, during the 65-day trial.” Buchanan added, “So when there is a gap in the footprint, for instance, the video did not have any GPS on it and all other videos on the phone had GPS, had the metadata and the epoch times in sequence.”
#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!
View this post on Instagram