Garth Rattray | Bad ‘Vybz’ about our justice system

I only know that Adidja Palmer (Vybz Kartel) is a popular dancehall entertainer with a cult-like following. And I have listened to a few of the tunes (don’t ask me their names) that were played on the radio.

On September 30, 2011, Kartel was arrested and charged with possession of a small quantity of ganja. Later, he, Lenburgh McDonald and Nigel Thompson were charged with the murder of 27-year-old businessman Barrington ‘Bossie’ Burton. In October bail was denied. In March the following year Kartel was granted bail in the sum of $3,000,000 for that matter but remained in jail in connection to the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. The co-accused were Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, Kahira Jones, André St John, and Shane Williams.

On July 24, 2013, Kartel was found not guilty of the murder of Barrington ‘Bossie’ Burton, but he and the new co-accused were kept behind bars because of the ‘Lizard’ Williams matter. That trial began on November 18, 2013, in the Home Circuit Court with jury selection.

There was a hiccup with a juror who accidentally encountered one of the defendants… she was excused. On the last day of the trial, it was discovered that a juror, 63-year-old Livingston Cain, attempted to bribe other jurors by offering them $500,000 to influence them to return a not guilty verdict. The presiding judge sought advice on how to proceed. It was recommended that the case go forward with all the jurors. Although I know nothing about the law, I was taken aback when the decision was made to carry the case to completion with the same jurors. By the way, Cain was tried, found guilty of perverting the course of justice on December 13, 2022, and sentenced.

FOUND GUILTY

The trial proceeded and the jurors were sent to deliberate late in the day at the end of the trial. On March 13, 2014, Kartel and three of the co-accused were found guilty by an 11-member jury. Shane Williams, one of the defendants, was acquitted. That trial lasted 64 days and was said to be the longest in our history. On April 3, 2014, all the defendants were sentenced to life in prison for the murder. Kartel was to serve a minimum of 35 years before being eligible for parole. Naturally, their convictions were appealed.

The timeline for what followed was: April 3, 2020 – They lost the appeal against their murder conviction. April 17, 2020 – The Court of Appeal allowed the appeals and considered time already served. September 25, 2020 – Kartel and his co-accused were granted conditional leave to go to the Privy Council in the United Kingdom to challenge their murder conviction. February 14 and 15 – The Privy Council heard the appeal. March 14 – The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council rules that the appellants’ convictions should be quashed (because 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 the deceased.

May 30 – The Jamaican Supreme Court denies a habeas corpus application for Kartel and the other co-accused pending a decision in the Court of Appeal on whether there should be a retrial. June 10 – Hearing by the Court of Appeal on whether or not the men were to be retried for murder. July 31 – the men, except for Jones (who remains incarcerated on an unrelated firearm conviction), were set free.

BOTHER

Even as a layman, several things about this case bother me, and it has nothing to do with their guilt or innocence. When it was decided to go forward with the trial using the same pool of jurors, despite the egregious attempt to bribe them, I wondered if the decision makers realised that the jurors may have been inclined to render a guilty verdict because of overcompensation for the bribe attempt. Additionally, the attempt at bribe could cause them to believe that the defendants were indeed guilty and were desperately seeking a way out. It was therefore not a good idea to keep those jurors and continue the trial.

After the Privy Council quashed the conviction of Kartel and his co-defendants, The Gleaner of March 20 published the opinions of former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and King’s Counsel Hugh Small that deciding to continue the trial after the jury-tampering incident “was not merely a risk but a fatal error”. They even cited a 1983 Jamaican Appellate Court decision that would have provided appropriate guidance.

I am dismayed by the big picture. If Jamaica had retained capital punishment and if such a case rose to the level to warrant the death penalty, Kartel and the co-accused would likely have been hanged by now. But, under our current punitive provisions, Jamaica only sentences convicts to possible life in prison. If Adidja Palmer and the co-accused could not afford top-notch, high-end legal representation, they could never appeal to the United Kingdom Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Is it justice when such a tainted jury is retained? Why didn’t our local appeal system right the wrongs? What will happen when we finally jettison the Privy Council as our final arbitrator? Will the Caribbean Court of Justice suffice? Are rich people afforded better justice than poor people? Those questions and concerns should never arise if equal rights and justice exist in Jamaica.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com