Vybz Kartel
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Lord Justice Lloyd-Jones and defence attorneys Bianca Samuels and Bert Samuels
The UK based Privy Council has quashed the murder conviction of dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel and his three co-convicts, and has sent the case back to the local courts for a decision to be made on whether the matter should be retried.
Adidja "Vybz Kartel" Palmer, Shawn Campbell, also known as "Shawn Storm", Kahira Jones and Andre "Mad Suss" St. John were convicted on March 13, 2014 for the murder of Clive "Lizard" Williams.
They were all sentenced to life in prison.
The men appealed the sentence at the Privy Council and during the hearing last month, held over two days from February 14, the Law Lords had raised questions around the judge's decision to continue the trial after it was revealed that a member of the jury pool had offered a bribe to the foreman to swing the verdict in favour of Kartel.
When the Privy Council decision was handed down shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday - almost 10 years to the day Kartel and his co-accused were initially found guilty - the jury issue proved to be deciding factor in the judges' ruling.
In a short decision, the Privy Council said although it has sympathy for the trial judge, the handling of the jury matter by that judge presented a material irregularity in the course of the trial. It said allowing the juror who offered the bribe, 'Juror X', to remain on the jury was fatal to the safety of the convictions that followed.
The Judicial Committee concluded that the appeals should be allowed and the appellants' convictions should be quashed on the ground of juror misconduct.
It said the case should be remitted to the Court of Appeal of Jamaica to decide whether to order a retrial of the appellants for the murder of Clive Williams.
Attorneys for one of the appellants, Shawn Campbell, say the verdict from the Privy Council was not the result anticipated, as a retrial will be under consideration.
"It's not what we wanted wholesomely, but we are grateful that justice was found in that the Privy Council found that there was injustice in respect of the jury tampering issue," attorney Bianca Samuels told the media shortly after the ruling.
Attorney Bert Samuels said a bail hearing will be sought on behalf of his client.
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