Vybz Kartel Freed After Appeals Court Declines to Retry Murder Charges

A Jamaican court of appeals declined Wednesday to retry Vybz Kartel after the dancehall star’s 2014 murder conviction was overturned earlier this year, making Kartel a free man after a decade in prison.

In March, the United Kingdom-based Privy Council overturned the conviction against Kartel — who in 2014 was found guilty in the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams — finding evidence of juror misconduct in Kartel’s initial trial.

However, the Privy Council left it to a three-person court of appeals in Jamaica to ultimately decide whether to retry the murder case against Kartel and his co-defendants, or let them all free. On Wednesday, the Court of Appeal opted for the latter, writing in the decision, “The interests of justice do not require a new trial to be ordered,” the Jamaica Observer reports.

The initial trial against Kartel and three co-defendants went on for just over two months before the four men were convicted on March 14, 2014. Prosecutors argued that Williams was killed over missing guns, and that Kartel had lured Williams to his home before Williams was beaten to death.

At the time, Jamaican police claimed in testimony that they saw a text on Kartel’s phone stating that Williams’ body was turned to “mincemeat.” Williams’ body was never found. 

During the murder trial, one juror was accused of offering bribes to other jurors, and after the court became aware of that allegation, the judge chose to continue the trial instead of dismissing. Potential juror misconduct became the focal point of Kartel’s argument in his years-long appeals process.

Kartel was one of the biggest artists in Jamaica at the time of his conviction, and he had collaborated with artists including Rihanna, Missy Elliot, Busta Rhymes, and Pitbull among others. He continued to release music while behind bars, including the 2016 single “Fever.”