Adidja 'Vybz Kartel' Palmer is represented by attorney Isat Buchanan.
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A report from Radio Jamaica's legal analyst Dionne Jackson Miller
By Dionne Jackson Miller
As the Court of Appeal continued its hearing on whether the murder case against Vybz Kartel and his three co-accused should be retried, the entertainer's mental and physical health was a major focus on Wednesday morning.
Attorney Isat Buchanan argued that Kartel has declined in both mental and physical health and that this means a retrial would not be in the interest of justice.
He told the court that Kartel's heart function has declined by 50 per cent since last year, and that the dancehall artiste also has Graves' disease.
Graves' disease affects the immune system and causes hyperthyroidism, which is the overproduction of hormones from the thyroid.
A medical report on Kartel's mental health indicated he is suffering from anxiety and what Mr. Buchanan called a "mental weakness" that has developed because of the ordeal of the case.
According to the attorney, medical experts have indicated Kartel could not sustain a retrial.
Apart from the physical and mental issues, Mr. Buchanan also told the court that the case has taken a huge financial toll on the entertainer, both in terms of the cost of defending the case as well as his ability to earn.
Kartel, whose given name is Adidja Palmer; Shawn 'Shawn Storm' Campbell; Kahira Jones; and Andre St. John were convicted in March 2014 for the murder Clive 'Lizard' Williams and sentenced to life in prison a month later.
On March 14 this year - ten years later - the United Kingdom-based Privy Council overturned the convictions on the grounds of juror misconduct.
It sent the matter back to Jamaica's Court of Appeal for it to decide whether the murder case should be retried.
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