Vybz Kartel out of prison after 13 years.

 

Dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel is now a free man after 13 years in prison.

The entertainer walked free from the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in downtown Kingston on Wednesday evening after the Court of Appeal ruled against retrying him and his co-accused for the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams.

In 2014, Kartel, real name Adidja Palmer; Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell; Kahira Jones; and Andre St John were convicted of the September 2011 murder of Williams.

Lawyers representing the quartet had appealed to the local Court of Appeal in 2020, but their convictions were upheld.

The accused’s appeal was then taken to the United Kingdom-based Privy Council, and on March 14, 2024, their murder convictions were overturned on the grounds of juror misconduct.

The Privy Council also remitted the case back to the Jamaica Court of Appeal to decide whether there should be a retrial.

Renowned Jamaican Reggae/Dancehall artiste, Vybz Kartel has a word of advice for the youth after spending 12 years behind bars.

A viral video shows the 48-year-old artiste walking out of the prison yard after he was released by an order from Jamaican Court of Appeal.

Formally known as Adidja Palmer, Vybz Kartel adviced the youth to “stay out of crime as time spent in prison is a waste of life” shortly after leaving the walls of his prison yard.

In the video, he was seen being escorted by his friends to a vehicle where he gave the wise words.

“Tell di youth ‘em fi stay outta crime, it nuh worth it, a waste a life, a waste a time Breda,” he stated.

In a unanimous decision on Wednesday, July 31, the court decided against a retrial in the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams, whose body was never found.

The stunning decision means that Vybz Kartel, Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St. John will be released after years behind bars.

“We conclude that the interest of justice does not require a new trial to be ordered,” the court read.

The court said Wednesday, that there was sufficient evidence to suggest that Kartel would not be able to complete a potentially longer sentence if there were to be a retrial.

The court cited the “psychological and financial effects that it would have on the appellants,” referring to Kartel’s health.

Throughout the years, he’s proclaimed his innocence and fought to have the conviction thrown out.

Kartel’s conviction was quashed this spring, and the British Privy Council gave the Jamaican court the chance to decide on a retrial or outright acquittal, meaning there would be no further prosecution.

For most of his time in prison, Kartel had reportedly been battling Graves’ Disease under conditions his attorney says are “inhumane.”

Lawyers representing the defendants made an appeal back in 2020, but the convictions were upheld.

The appeal was then pushed to the United Kingdom-based Privy Council, Jamaica’s final court of appeal, in February 2024, which overturned the convictions due to juror misconduct.

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