Family, friends, and fans of entertainer Vybz Kartel and his co-accused will know Wednesday afternoon whether the man they call ‘World Boss’ will face retrial or be set free by the Court of Appeal.
Justice Marva McDonald Bishop, the newly minted president of the Court of Appeal, who leads a three-judge panel, had said that the highly anticipated judgment would be delivered by July 31.
Many of Kartel’s fans are ‘waiting with bated breath’ for a favourable court decision for the controversial entertainer – a judgment that would see the Gaza boss walk free, triggering wild celebrations among his followers.
However, Kartel’s loyal supporters would have to wait for an extended period to know his fate if the justices send the entertainer and his co-accused back to court for a retrial.
On March 14, 2024, the United Kingdom-based Privy Council, Jamaica’s final court of appeal, overturned the convictions of Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, and co-accused Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St John.
When the men last appeared before the court in June, the prosecution was pushing for a retrial even though there was the likelihood that two of the accused who are charged with the murder of Clive Williams, along with Vybz Kartel, would have finished their sentence if convicted again.
The men were charged with the 2011 murder of Williams and convicted in 2014.
“We are accepting that by the time we do come to a retrial, if it so orders, the appellants would have served close to or the full minimum sentence,” acting Director of Public Prosecutions Claudette Thompson had said on the final day of a six-day hearing to determine retrial in June.
If the men are retried and convicted, the sentencing judge will have to factor in the 13 years that they have already served, granted they have got bail, and cannot impose a sentence that is higher than the previous penalties.
But Thompson had argued that the accused men must not be allowed to walk free based on a technical blunder.
All four accused were sentenced to life in prison with Campbell and Jones given pre-parole sentences of 25 years; Palmer, 35 years, and St John, 30 years. However, two and a half years were later shaved off their pre-parole sentence by the Court of Appeal, which upheld their convictions.