A kindness for Kartel
Incarcerated dancehall artiste’s murder appeal expedited on humanitarian grounds
Published:Thursday | October 26, 2023 | 12:09 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
Attorney-at-law Bert Samuels says Vybz Kartel’s health played a major role in his legal team applying to the United Kingdom (UK) Privy Council to expedite the hearing into the appeal against the murder conviction of the dancehall artiste and three others – Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St John.
The case, which had been set for April of 2024, has been moved up to February.
Samuels yesterday described it as “a long journey” and said he was not surprised that the Privy Council had granted their request.
“Humanitarian grounds are always attractive,” said Samuels, who is representing Campbell. “Medical reports were submitted outlining the health challenges and I am happy that the date has been moved forward. This case is deserving of being expedited.”
In May, Isat Buchanan, the attorney representing Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, said in an interview with FOX5 New York that his 47-year-old client was suffering from Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder which he has been battling for seven years. There have also been reports of the entertainer suffering from two heart conditions.
“We wanted to get the hearing at the end of the year ... but we couldn’t get an earlier date, so it was a compromise. And we have two days, February 14 and 15 ... and we are prepared,” Samuels told The Gleaner.
Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn could not confirm the new February date, but said her team would have been made aware of the application to expedite the hearing and would have responded to affidavits and medical reports, but, ultimately, it was up to Palmer’s team to justify the need for the hearing to be brought forward.
Palmer, Campbell, Jones and St John were all handed life sentences in April 2014 for the 2011 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. Prosecutors say the murder took place at Palmer’s house in Havendale, St Andrew. In April 2020, two years after the Court of Appeal in Jamaica upheld Palmer’s murder conviction, his legal team took the decision to appeal to the island’s highest court, the Privy Council.
Samuels pointed out that the men have been in custody for 12 years and that “the four appellants, including Adidja Palmer, are looking at freedom”.
He pointed out that Palmer’s case has the distinction of being the longest murder trial in the island’s history.
“What do I mean by that? There are 6,500 pages of evidence ... and I had to read every line. An average long murder case has 1,000 pages and lasts six weeks. Kartel’s case lasted four and a half months. We made them into nine volumes, two inches thick,” Samuels said.
In February, the nine-member team, which includes Samuels, Buchanan, Bianca Samuels, Linda Hudson and John Clarke on the Jamaican side, along with four lawyers based in the UK, will present the case at the Privy Council. Not all members of the team will fly to England for the matter, however.
“This brings into sharp focus just how expensive a Privy Council Appeal can be for poor people. You have to apply for visas, buy airline tickets to England, pay for accommodation. It is a horrible situation,” Samuels declared.