The so-called Privy Council (Private Council), UK based, the court of last resort of Jamaica, denied dancehall star's application Vybz Kartel to present new evidence in his legal battle to challenge his life sentence for murder.
Despite this setback for the singer, the main arguments of the appeal have yet to be heard, what could happen at the end of this year or early next, according to various media reports on the island.
The defense request - which represents both Adidja Palmer, Kartel's real name, and his co-defendantsShawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St. John– sought to present evidence that Kartel's cell phone, containing damning text and voice messages linking him to the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams, had shown signs of tampering .
“Having considered the written submissions of the appellants and the respondent, we have agreed to inform Her Majesty as our opinion that permission to appeal was denied on the application dated 20 November 2020”, informed the Privy Council this Tuesday.
Requests on behalf of the artist for an extension of time and to submit new evidence were also denied..
“The grounds do not support the contention that there has been a serious judicial error in this case”, added the opinion of the Privy Council.
Kartel and his three co-defendants received mandatory life sentences in 2014 for the murder in 2011 de Clive ‘Lizard’ williams who, according to prosecutors, took place in a house in Havendale, St Andrew, Jamaica.
The singer initially received 35 years in prison before being eligible for parole, although later they were reduced to 32 years and six months, after an appeal upheld the conviction.
