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After he spent 13 years in jail on a murder charge, what does dancehall deejay Vybz Kartel's release say about Jamaica's judicial system?

Should the UK Privy Council remain Jamaica's final court of appeal?
Written byEmma Lewis

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Posted 4 August 2024 19:05 GMT

Jamaican dancehall deejay Vybz Kartel upon his release from prison on July 31, 2024. Screenshot taken from the YouTube video ‘Vybz Kartel and co-appellants freed’ by The Jamaica Gleaner. Fair use.

On July 31, the eve of Emancipation Day, three Jamaican citizens were freed from the Tower Street Correctional Centre in downtown Kingston. The best-known of them was 48-year old dancehall star Adidja Palmer (aka Vybz Kartel), who emerged from the prison gate with Shawn Campbell and Andre St. John, two of his associates who had also been serving jail terms for the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams. They have since been cleared of the charges, but a third co-appellant, Kahira Jones, remains in jail as he is serving a sentence for wounding with intent.

The prison release marked the end of a thorny, contentious legal saga, followed closely over the years by the Jamaican media and netizens. The deejay and his alleged accomplices had been found guilty of murder in 2014. After their conviction was upheld in 2020 by the Jamaican Court of Appeal, defense lawyers took their appeal to the Judicial Committee of the UK Privy Council, which remains Jamaica’s final court of appeal — and won.

The Privy Council ruled that the trial judge should have dismissed a tainted juror, Livingston Cain, who was later found guilty of accepting a bribe to try to influence other jurors in the case. It quashed the convictions in March 2024 and returned the case to the Jamaican Court of Appeal. Since then, Jamaicans had been awaiting the court’s decision on whether to release the prisoners or to order a retrial while Kartel et al remained behind bars.

Commenting on the jury tampering issue, Jamaican lawyer Clyde Williams pointed out:

Others expressed dissatisfaction at the lawyers’ reaction to the Appeal Court's ruling:

The DPP is an acronym for Jamaica's Director of Public Prosecutions.

Excitement had been mounting for the prisoners’ release. Two stretch limousines — reportedly rented from a Spanish Town-based funeral home — parked on a side street awaiting the appearance of the released men as heavy security surrounded the prison:

There was instant celebration amongst a throng of fans on the street. The release of their hero, nicknamed “World Boss” or “Teacha”, was especially celebrated in his home town of Waterford, a few miles outside the capital, Kingston. Residents of more volatile neighbourhoods such as this often call their communities by the names of war-stricken regions; Waterford is known as “Gaza City” or “Gaza”:

Some commented on Kartel’s drastically changed appearance after 13 years behind bars. He reportedly suffers from Graves Disease, an immune condition that affects the thyroid gland, which was said to have been aggravated by poor prison conditions:

There have also been reports that Kartel is in need of urgent medical attention. The issue has attracted scrutiny into what many say are inhumane conditions in the country's prison system.

Describing his prison stay as “hell”, Kartel asked those who bore a grudge against him — dubbed as “badmind” in Jamaica — how they felt upon his release:

The Jamaican Court of Appeal — a panel of judges led by the recently appointed President of the Court of Appeal Marva McDonald Bishop — arrived at their decision not to retry the men by concluding that a retrial would “not be in the interests of justice.”

Factors in their decision included the absence of evidence, the lack of defence and prosecution witnesses, Kartel's physical, psychological and emotional health, and the possibility that two of the accused (Campbell and Jones) could be given more jail time if a new trial were to be ordered, which would be unfair. In fact, the judges estimated that a retrial, which prosecutors had vigorously argued for, might take as long as 15 years and would be a severe strain on the resources of Jamaica’s judicial system.

The case once again raises the question of whether Jamaica should retain the UK Privy Council as its final court of appeal — a topic that has been argued in political circles and on which the Jamaican public appears divided.

The opposition People’s National Party has forcefully argued for the Caribbean Court of Justice to be adopted, linking the issue to ongoing discussions about constitutional reform. In a recent public seminar, former prime minister Bruce Golding, who is not a legal expert, examined the issue of the Court of Appeal in the context of the Jamaican Constitution.

Unsurprisingly, Kartel’s lawyers are suggesting that the Privy Council should be retained as the country's highest court of appeal. Lead counsel Tom Tavares-Finson, who is also a government senator and President of the Upper House, said, “I think the fair treatment of this kind of high-profile matter by the Privy Council is another reason why many Jamaicans, including myself, support its retention as our country’s final appellate court.”

The argument will undoubtedly continue in legal and political circles, especially since many Jamaican politicians, including the Opposition Leader Mark Golding, are practising lawyers.

Meanwhile, people are wondering what's next for Vybz Kartel, both personally and career-wise. Music commentator Clyde McKenzie opined, “He was instrumental in forming this new era of the [dancehall] music, some would say. The question now is how will he be able to reintroduce himself, although he has had some presence, but how will he manage to insert himself into this new market? It will be left to see how well he is going to adapt to this situation.”

Other dancehall producers felt sure Kartel would reinvigorate the dancehall scene. In fact, the deejay had several hits while behind bars, with as many as nine entries in the Billboard Reggae charts.

For his part, Kartel wasted no time dropping a new EP, titled “First Week Out”, which he promoted via X (formerly Twitter):

He also reunited with his two sons:

What will the impact of Kartel’s release be, if any? Well-known dub poet and radio commentator Mutabaruka posted enigmatically:

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Written byEmma Lewis

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