Appeals court overturns Vybz Kartel’s murder conviction

Jamaican dancehall artist Vybz Kartel’s conviction for murder has been overturned.

The 48-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment together with other convicts in 2014 for the alleged killing of Clive “Lizard” Williams on the Caribbean Island.

After Jamaican Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal against the murder conviction, another appeal was entered at the Privy Council in UK, London in February this year.

The Privy Council is the final court of appeal in Jamaica and some other Commonwealth countries.

This appeal was successfully heard by the Privy Council who overturned the murder conviction on grounds of misconduct by a juror.

The Council argued that a juror accused of trying to bribe others should have been taken off the trial.

Lord Reed, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Briggs, Lord Burrows and Lady Simler heard their appeal during a two-day hearing in the UK in February.

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They decided that it was unsafe to allow the tainted juror to remain on the jury which decided the men’s fate. The juror was later convicted of attempting to bribe a fellow juror.

However, the case will be remitted to the Jamaican Court of Appeal to decide on whether the case should be retried.

The musician, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, is one of Jamaica’s most popular artists and has collaborated with top American artists such as Jay-Z and Rihanna.

His trial in Kingston took 64 days, one of the longest trial in Jamaican history. Kartel was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 35 years, later reduced on appeal to 32-and-a-half.

The post Appeals court overturns Vybz Kartel’s murder conviction first appeared on 3News.

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