The Jamaica Court of Appeal will deliver its long-awaited judgment in the Vybz Kartel case on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
This judgment will decide if Kartel and his three co-accused—Shawn Storm Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St. John—will face a retrial for the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams or be acquitted.
The ruling is expected to be announced at 2 p.m. according to Nationwide 90 FM. It follows a hearing by a three-judge panel of the Jamaica Court of Appeal just over a month ago.
The judgment will be delivered by newly appointed President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Marva McDonald Bishop, with Justices Paulette Williams and David Fraser also on the panel.
The UK’s Privy Council had overturned the men’s 2014 murder convictions in March and directed the local Court of Appeal to decide on the possibility of a retrial.
The Jamaican government has spent approximately J$36.2 million on a British legal team for the appeal of Vybz Kartel and his co-accused, who were convicted of murder in 2014. The UK’s Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) quashed their convictions in March 2024, citing jury tampering that affected their constitutional rights. The Jamaican government was ordered to cover the appellants’ legal costs, totaling over £670,000 according to sources in Vybz Kartel’s camp. If the case is retried, it could cost taxpayers an additionally $150 million according to sources.
The trial faced issues with telecom evidence and jury tampering, leading to scrutiny of the judicial process’s integrity.
