Vybz Kartel’s Murder Conviction Overturned
Ten years after Vybz Kartel was convicted of murder in the case of Clive “Lizard” Williams, his conviction was overturned, as reported by Reuters on Thursday.
Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, took his appeal to the Privy Council in London last month, claiming that the trial was compromised by attempts to bribe jurors.
Following the successful appeal, authorities in Jamaica will determine if Kartel will face a new trial.
In response to the decision, Kartel posted multiple celebratory messages on Instagram with the caption “Victorious!!!”
The trial against Kartel and his three co-defendants lasted for slightly over two months before the court found all four men guilty on March 14, 2014. Prosecutors presented their case, arguing that Williams was murdered due to a dispute over missing firearms.
They claimed that Kartel had enticed Williams to his residence, where he was brutally beaten to death. Shockingly, Williams’ body was never recovered.
According to the New York Times’ coverage of the conviction, Jamaican police officers testified that they had discovered a text message on Kartel’s phone describing Williams’ body as being turned into “mincemeat.”
Since his imprisonment in 2011, Vybz Kartel has been consistently releasing new music. Despite Jamaican prison officials denying him recording privileges, Kartel has managed to keep the music flowing, without revealing the exact source of his recordings. Notably, his songs often touch upon current events, adding a relevant and timely element to his lyrical content.
In 2016, even while behind bars, Kartel achieved international success with his album “King of the Dancehall,” which reached number 2 on the US Billboard Reggae Charts.
The album featured the hit single “Fever,” which not only dominated local music charts but also became his most streamed track on various online platforms.
Continuing his musical legacy, Kartel collaborated with producer Dre Skull in 2017 for the single “Real Bad Gal.” Additionally, two of his sons, Jaheim (also known as Little Vybz) and Akheel Raheim Palmer (also known as Little Addi), have been making their mark in the music industry since 2014 as a duo called “PG 13” or “Kartel Sons.”
In 2019, both sons were featured on the “Fully Gaza” riddim, with Likkle Vybz joining forces with his father on the title track, while Likkle Addi showcased his talent on the solo track “Dolla Sign,” which cleverly incorporated elements from his father’s 2009 single of the same name on the Goodlife riddim.
In January 2020, Kartel dedicated a 10-track album titled “To Tanesha” to his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his three children, Tanesha Johnson. The album was a collaborative effort between Kartel’s record label, Vybz Kartel Muzik, and Johnson’s label, Short Boss Muzik. Later that year, on June 26, Kartel released his fifteenth studio album, “Of Dons & Divas.” Furthermore, he made a notable appearance on Busta Rhymes’ 2020 album, “Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God.”
Exactly six years after his initial conviction, on April 3, 2020, a three-member panel of judges in the Jamaican Court of Appeal upheld Kartel’s conviction. However, on April 17, 2020, the Court of Appeal reduced Kartel’s parole eligibility to 32 years and 6 months, acknowledging the time he had already spent in jail while awaiting trial in 2014.
