Kartel retrial hearing set for June 10
KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Jamaica Court of Appeals will begin hearing arguments on June 10 to determine whether to order a retrial for Vybz Kartel and his co-accused in the murder case of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams.
The hearing will last for five days.
The decision was handed down on Friday by Justice Marva McDonald-Bishop with the following stipulations:
- The hearing concerning whether a re-trial should be ordered is to be fixed for 10 June 2024 for five days.
- The appellants are to file and serve skeleton submissions with authorities on or before May 6, 2024.
- The respondent is to file and serve skeleton arguments with authorities on or before 31st May 2024.
- The appellants’ skeleton arguments must be accompanied by a written chronology of events relevant to the appeal and cross-referenced to the record or transcript. The appellants are to agree and file one joint chronology of events.
- Four copies of the parties’ skeleton arguments and chronology must be filed for the use of the court.
The UK-based Privy Council had ordered that the convictions of Kartel, real name Adidja Palmer, fellow entertainer Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St John, be overturned based on the arguments presented in February.
READ: Conviction Quashed: Privy Council sends Kartel case back to local Appeal Court
The Privy Court, in their ruling also remitted the decision to the Jamaica Court of Appeals on whether to order a retrial of the appellants.
In April 2014, Kartel was sentenced to life in prison with the eligibility of parole after serving 35 years of his sentence. His co-accused were also handed life sentences – with Shawn Storm and Jones being eligible for parole after serving 25 years, and St John being eligible after serving 15 years.
