Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel and his three co-defendants have regained their freedom after the Jamaica Court of Appeal ordered their release, FOX 5 NY reported. Kartel’s release comes after he spent 13 years in prison in the wake of his murder conviction.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Kartel and his co-defendants were found guilty of murdering the dancehall star’s former associate, Clive “Lizard” Williams. But the court on Wednesday unanimously chose not to retry the case, paving the way for the release of Kartel, 48, and his three co-defendants – Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St. John.
“We conclude that the interest of justice does not require a new trial to be ordered,” the court ruled. The court in its decision cited Kartel’s ability to complete a possibly longer sentence in the case of a retrial, explaining that there was ample evidence to indicate the She Holding On singer wouldn’t be able to.
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The court further made mention of the “psychological and financial effects that it would have on” Kartel. The decision by the Court of Appeal comes after the Caribbean nation’s Supreme Court initially ordered the dancehall sensation – who is popularly known as the “Worl’ Boss” – and two of his three co-defendants to remain in prison after their attorneys filed an unsuccessful habeas corpus application, Face2Face Africa reported in May.
That ruling before a packed courtroom by Justice Andrea Thomas came after the United Kingdom’s Privy Council nullified the murder convictions of Kartel and his co-defendants in March.
But Justice Thomas ruled that the murder charges against the renowned dancehall star and his co-defendants still stood because the Privy Council in its decision did not order the acquittal of the defendants. Justice Thomas in rejecting the habeas corpus application also stated that the defendants remaining in custody was not a violation of the Constitution.
After the Supreme Court ordered Kartel and his co-defendants to remain in prison, Kartel’s family in an interview with FOX 5 NY said the 48-year-old entertainer’s health condition was not getting any better. His lawyer, Isat Buchanan, had also previously said that Kartel was suffering “life-threatening” illnesses including Graves’ disease and two heart conditions.
