Vybz Kartel Freed From Prison Following Overturned Murder Conviction

Caribbeans, dancehall fans, and music lovers alike are in a celebratory mood in honor of Di Worl’ Boss. Vybz Kartel was officially freed from prison this week after serving 10 years on a murder charge.

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The 48-year-old artist, real name Adidja Palmer, had his murder conviction overturned this past March by the Privy Council in London. They spent the last few months deciding whether or not would be retried, as the initial conviction involved a juror who engaged in bribery. Thus, he was denied bail and kept in jail.

On Wednesday (July 31), Jamaican appeal judges ruled in favor of Kartel after his defense team relentlessly appealed the initial conviction and said the juror should have been thrown off the case. They called the conviction “fatal to the safety of the convictions which followed” and “an infringement of the [defendants’] fundamental right to a fair hearing.” In other words, justice was served and the “Vybz” are high, BBC reported.

Vybz Kartel was tried for the murder of Clive Williams, which took place in 2011. Prosecutors claimed the “Fever” artist and his associates Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St. John killed Williams for not returning firearms to their crew. Lamar Chow, who was summoned to Kartel’s home with Williams to be confronted, claimed that Kartel’s crew attacked both of them and he saw Williams lying motionless on the ground. The house was burned down days later and Williams’ body was never found.

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The four men were sentenced to life in prison, with Kartel being told he would spend at least 35 years in jail. The public learned that he endured severe health issues while incarcerated. Specifically, he suffered from Graves’ disease, which is an autoimmune disorder that causes the affected person’s eyes to protrude; if untreated, it can be fatal .

His lawyer, Isat Buchanan, described Kartel’s health conditions while he was in prison. “He’s in a cell, and if you can picture a brick oven, because that’s how those cells are built, the ventilation is next to none,” he said. “His neck was swollen. If you think of a shirt that is about 18.5 inches in the neck area, you couldn’t close the collar on his neck and that’s how bad it is in this moment. His face is actually swollen.”

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