A TOP UK court has quashed the murder conviction of Dancehall star Vybz Kartel and three other men.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has concluded that the appeals of Kartel, Shawn Campbell, who is best known as Dancehall star Shawn Storm, Kahira Jones and André St John should be allowed.

Handing down the judgement, Lord Lloyd-Jones told the court the appellants’ convictions should be quashed on the ground of juror misconduct.

The case should be remitted to the Court of Appeal of Jamaica to decide whether to order a retrial of the appellants for the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams in 2014.

According notes about the case on the Privy Council webstie: “During the trial, the judge became aware of an allegation that a juror had attempted to bride others by offering $500,000 JMD for a particular outcome.

“After investigating the allegation and considering it with counsel for both the prosecution and the defence, the judge decided that the trial should proceed.

“He did not discharge the jury, or the particular juror said to have offered the bribes.”

The appeal court also heard that the jury could have been “put under pressure” to deliver a verdict because the judge finished his summing up late in the afternoon on 13 March, 2014.

The decision to quash convictions was unanimous, with all five judges agreeing to overturn the men’s murder convictions.

The Court of Appeal granted the appeal, based on three grounds, which were:
1) The trial judge failed properly to enquire into allegations of juror misconduct;
2) The trial judge departed from standard practice in inviting the jury to retire to consider their verdict so late in the day, putting undue pressure on them to reach a verdict;
3) The trial judge erred in admitting the telecommunications data because it had been
obtained in breach of the Interception of Communications Act and the Charter.

During the appeal hearing at the Privy Council in London last month, Kartel’s lawyer, Isat Buchanan said that the 48-year-old star was not granted a fair trial.
Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, is currently serving a minimum of 32 years in a Jamaican prison, for the murder of Mr Williams in 2014.

His case will now go back to Jamaican courts, who will decide whether to order a retrial.

Despite being behind bars for almost a decade, Kartel remains one of Jamaica’s most influential music stars and is fondly referred to as the ‘King of the Dancehall.’

Some of his biggest hits include Clarks and Summer Time.

At the height of his career, Kartel also branched out into other areas of business and launched successful lines of shoes, condoms and alcohol.

His popularity in Jamaica and around the world also saw him become the first dancehall artist to star in his own reality TV show.

The highly-publicised trial lasted 65 days and was the longest-running court case in Jamaica’s history.