While Vybz Kartel and co-accused scored an incredible victory at their UK Privy Council appeal trial this past March, they are, a month later, all still behind bars.
Everybody is chiming in and as usual Kartel is the talk of the town with his name being one of the trendiest topic, as usual, in his homeland Jamaica and beyond since his fans base is big and reached far beyond Jamaica, over all since his incarceration started.
It is clearly in front of everybody eyes that once again Vybz Kartel, real name Adidja Azim Palmer, has not being treated fairly by the Jamaican court system. After the ruling at the UK Supreme Court that quashed the previous conviction he should have been already freed, if not just for the severe medical reasons we all know, but he is still behind bars.
Finally, almost two months passed by the Jamaica Court of Appeal has scheduled a hearing for June 10 to decide if Vybz Kartel and his three others co-accused should be released or face a re-trial for the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams, whom body was never found.
Justice Marva McDonald Bishop set deadlines for the submission of legal arguments for May 6 for Kartel, and his co-accused Shawn ‘Storm’ Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre ‘Mad Suss’ St John, and May 31 for the prosecution.
In March, the UK-based Privy Council overturned the murder convictions of the four men, and ordered that the Court of Appeal should determine whether there should be a new trial. The UK court cited serious jury management issues for its decision, particularly the continuation of the trial with a ‘tainted’ juror, which compromised the fairness of the trial.
Kartel and his co-accused, who have served over 12 years in prison, have consistently denied involvement in Williams’ death. A re-trial has all sorts of impracticality including a heavy backlog of the case, and the anticipated “ordeal” a new trial would entail for all the involved, including the victim’s family, and the public. Not to mention the costs!
Vybz Kartel should not be undergoing another re-trial! It would be totally unfair given the latest news that his attorney’s office had a fire and everything got burn, including Kartel’s trial papers and documents.
But most of all because Vybz Kartel and his co-defendants have all already served their time, more than 12 years behind bars.
Talking to the the press Addi’s main attorney, Isat Buchanan, says he’s confident the Dancehall star and his three co-accused will not have to face a retrial for the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams.
In a statement last month, Kartel, who received the harshest sentence, expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal, which previously upheld his conviction, would now do the “right thing.”
“I am also very confident that the court of appeal in Jamaica will do the right thing in the name of equity, fairness, and justice and free us,” Kartel wrote
“Some people have expressed their concern to me that a retrial may be ordered but to them, I say (albeit with my limited knowledge of the law) ‘what is there to retry?the most important point to me is that I am an innocent man. So in reality, I’m not in the least bit worried as I know I will be acquitted and go home to my family whom I have not been together with for over 1[0 years].” he added.
