Vybz Kartel, Co-Accused Freed, Will Not Face Retrial

Dancehall artist Vybz Kartel and his co-accused Shawn 'Storm' Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St. John will not face a new trial for the murder of Clive 'Lizard' Williams, the Court Of Appeal has ruled in a unanimous decision


On Wednesday, Justice Marva McDonald-Bishop, who leads the three-judge panel with Paulette Williams and David Fraser, announced that their decision was based on 12 factors. The Justice said that while the seriousness and prevalence of the crime weighed in favor of a retrial, there were "several, equally powerful factors, which, when combined, militate against ordering a new trial."

These included:

"the insufficient and inadequate account by the prosecution for the availability of its witnesses and trial exhibits"
"...the time, financial costs, expense and impact on the Court's resources as well as other cases in the queue awaiting trial. We find that this is significant and it militates against a new trial"
"the psychological, financial and medical effect that a new trial would likely have on the appellants"
"the unjustifiable interference with the appellant





constitutional rights to a fair hearing within a reasonable time