Lawyers representing Vybz Kartel and his co-defendants are getting ready to apply for bail pending the decision that the Jamaica Court of Appeal will make regarding their fate.
Vybz Kartel, born Adidja Palmer, Shawn ‘Storm’ Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St. John all saw their 2014 murder conviction squashed by the UK Privy Council on March 14, citing juror misconduct. The Privy Council also sent back the case to the Appeal Court in Jamaica for further ruling on whether to absolve the four men of the charges or grant a retrial.
Isat Buchanan, Vybz Kartel’s lead appeal attorney, has now indicated that he will seek bail for the embattled dancehall star. “We will be seeking bail,” Buchanan said.
Bert Samuels, one of the attorneys representing Shawn Storm, also indicated that he will be seeking bail for the dancehall artist.
“I must say that the legal team is elated – Bianca Samuels and I fought hard in the Jamaican Court of Appeal,” Samuels told Urban Islandz on Thursday. “The very grounds that we sought and argued in the Jamaican Court of Appeal have succeeded at the Privy Council, so we are saying to ourselves that, yes, we feel vindicated. We feel that the hard work paid off. Going forward, we have to now listen to Shawn Campbell, it’s his decision what team he wants to go to the Court of Appeal to argue that there should be no retrial. Today is the day for celebration and victory.”
In the meantime, Vybz Kartel is praising his attorney Isat Buchanan for how he handled his appeal in the Privy Council. “Di Ras Deliver like FedEx! @isatbuchanan Psalms 91 daily and claim the victory! #GodisTheGreatest,” Kartel wrote.
Buchanan, along with Kartel’s fiancée, Sidem Ozturk, were in court in the UK when the judge handed down the ruling. The attorney responded to the artist’s post, writing, “@vybzkartel And now Psalm 121 daily fi silence the bad mind.”
The lawyers have not indicated a date for submission of their application for bail, but that could be as early as next week. When the Court of Appeal is expected to rule on the matter is yet to be determined.
