The Jamaican artists has been found guilty of the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams

Apr 4, 2014 12:04 GMT  ·  By
Dancehall artist Vybz Kartel sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murder
   Dancehall artist Vybz Kartel sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murder

The Jamaican Supreme Court has finally reached a verdict in the case against dancehall artist Vybz Kartel on April 3, after on March 13 a court ruled that he was guilty of the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams.

Today it was announced that Kartel, a prolific rapper, songwriter and dancehall performer was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment. Vybz, real name Adidja Palmer will have to serve at least 35 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

Billboard claims that Kartel was an “undeniable, yet divisive talent” that displayed a seemingly invincible ego, but today, that ego was broken with a sentence given by Justice Lennox Campbell from Jamaica's Supreme Court.

The event of announcing the sentence for the artist was carefully prepared by local authorities who closed down several streets in downtown Kingston, fearing that it would spark problems with some of his supporters. The case has received a lot of media attention both locally and internationally.

Kartel wasn't the only one to be sentenced in the case. Shawn Campbell and Kahira Jones have also received life prison terms and will be eligible for parole in 25 years, while Andre St. John will have to serve at least 30 years of his sentence before paroled.

All men were found guilty of the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams on August 16, 2011 on a trial that lasted 58 days and ended on March 13. The trial turned out to be the longest in Jamaica's legal history, something which only added to the interest from the public and the media.

Kartel's lawyers are expected to appeal today's conviction, but the process is expected to take anywhere between 6 to 12 months. The two lawyers, Christian Tavares-Finson and his father Tom Tavares-Finson, who have represented the artists ever since the trial began, maintain that the prosecution has presented fabricated evidence in court.

Among the manipulated evidence is a series of text-messages from Kartel's phone that apparently contained boasts about the killing. The phone had been confiscated by authorities when the trial began and it was said to contain incriminating messages about the victim's body which has never been found.

Apart from the murder charge, the artist is also facing charges for “attempting to pervert the course of justice as related to the Williams murder case.” These charges are related to the fact that he set up conspirators to file false robbery charges against Clive after the murder, to make it seem that it was still alive.