There some breaking news, good news finally, regarding dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel’s Appeal trial: the incarcerated Kings and his co-accused got an expedited appeal hearing by the UK’s Privy Council, following the recent concerns about his health in a Jamaican prison, after more than 11 years and half behind bars.
World Boss Vybz Kartel, real name Adidja Palmer, finally got his appeal hearing set with a definitive date in the UK’s Privy Council, earlier than expected. Vybz Kartel and his three co-accused were found guilty of the 2011 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams in 2014 and following a lengthy trial, the longest in Jamaican history, they were sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
Vybz Kartel is happy that his appeal case is out the hands of the Jamaican “corrupt” justice system and in the hands of “logic and reason” in the UK Privy Council. The Privy Council ruled to expedite the hearing to February 2024, instead than from April 16 to 18, 2024.
Kartel commented first hand via his social media accounts, writing: “When you’re out of the hands of badmind and corrupt crosses and in the hands of logic and reason”, receiving a lot of support from his fans in the dancehall community, including from other dancehall artists like Teejay, Spice, I-Octane, Baby Cham, and his co-defendant Shawn Storm.
This past Wednesday the Jamaican dancehall King and his three co-defendants finally received good news from the Privy Council. As attorney Bert Samuels just confirmed to the press, Kartel and co-accused will have their Appeal heard by the United Kingdom-based court in February next year. At the hearing are attending the attorneys for Kartel, and his co-defendants Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St John.
It has been attorney Isat Buchanan that filed the application in court at the beginning of this year 2023, following applications by defense attorney regarding Kartel’s instable and worsening medical condition. Let’s hope reason will prevail because after almost 12 years behind bars and given his health status Adidja Palmer deserves a second chance and after all these years behind bars he already expiated, let him go back to what he does best which is to voice and create songs and music.
The embattled Jamaican deejay has been diagnosed with Graves’ Disease, an autoimmune disease, but also as two heart conditions, described as “life-threatening” with the artist having to get emergency medical care several times already while behind bars, condition that has not improved since the bad state and shape of the Jamaican jails.
On top of that the artist condition has deteriorated faster following a solitary lockdown by prison officials over banned contraband found in his cell some time ago. In May this year, Vybz Kartel’s attorney, Isat Buchanan, reported to the press that the deejay was placed in solitary confinement in prison that lacked adequate ventilation and further put his health at greater risk. Prison authorities found a cell phone in his cell but as Kartel‘s lawyer put it that it’s pretty common, authorities regularly find hundreds of cell phones and other contraband in prison daily, but only Kartel and two other inmates were targeted and punished.
