INCARCERATED deejay Vybz Kartel life sentence appeal on the horizon

BY SIMONE MORGAN Observer reporter  Saturday, March 26, 2016    

INCARCERATED deejay Vybz Kartel may have another legal battle in the works, as the appeal against his life-sentence conviction may take place later this year.

Tom Tavares-Finson, one of the deejay’s attorneys, confirmed this development.

INCARCERATED deejay Vybz Kartel

“The transcripts have been reviewed and are just about ready. So it is possible that the bid for an appeal is likely,” Tavares-Finson told the Jamaica Observer.

Vybz Kartel, whose given name is Adijah Palmer; entertainer Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell; Kahira Jones; and Andre St John were sentenced on April 3 to life imprisonment for the August 16, 2011 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. Justice Lennox Campbell ordered that Vybz Kartel serve 35 years in prison, with hard labour, before he becomes eligible for parole. Campbell and Jones are to serve 25 years before becoming eligible for parole, while St John is to become eligible after serving 30 years of his sentence. Following a 65-day trial, they were convicted on March 13.

A fourth accused, Shane Williams, was acquitted by the 11-member jury.

He is being held at the Horizon Adult Remand Centre in Kingston.

Despite his incarceration, Kartel’s music continues to be in demand. He was voted Favourite Artiste Male Local and Favourite Dancehall Artiste at last month’s Youth View Awards held at the National Indoor Sports Centre in St Andrew.