Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel has been overly grateful following his release from prison after being locked up for 13 years. And though the She Holding On singer told The Guardian that he has made “so much money” following his release, he admitted he can’t get back the time he spent in prison.
Kartel, born Adidja Palmer, also offered a word of advice when he was talking about his upbringing and how his parents tried to steer him toward the right path. “My mom was a housewife, an amazing woman. She always tried to embed certain principles in us as children … I wish I had listened to them more,” the 48-year-old, who has been diagnosed with Graves’ disease, said.
His parents did everything they could to keep him in school by securing his admission to the private Tutorial College, The Guardian said. Kartel did leave with some O-level subjects but he never graduated from high school.
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“I’ve always said this even before I got arrested – stay in school. As much as possible, get an education because not everyone can pay for a college education, but try to get an education as far as it can take you and stay away from bad energy, from bad people, from gangsterism, because, bro, it’s not worth it,” he continued.
“It may look glamorous, especially if you were raised a certain way and you grew up in the ghetto, but it will cost you, and it cost me, you know what I mean?”
Kartel also touched on how he has been processing his feelings after his prison stint. “I’m one of the lucky ones, and I give thanks every day. I’m grateful for that. Since that day, walking out of prison, hundreds of people on the outside, people ask me what was going through my mind at the time. Too many things. Like, even now, I’m trying to process it,” he said.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Kartel and three other co-defendants gained their freedom this year after the Jamaica Court of Appeal ordered their release. The dancehall legend’s conviction came after he spent over a decade in prison in the wake of his murder conviction.
Kartel and his co-defendants were found guilty of murdering the dancehall star’s former associate, Clive “Lizard” Williams. But the court unanimously chose not to retry the case, paving the way for the release of Kartel 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 48-year-old wouldn’t be able to.
The court further made mention of the “psychological and financial effects that it would have on” Kartel. The decision by the Court of Appeal came 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 also 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.
