Jamaica Dancehall Star Vybz Kartel Guilty Of Murder

Popular Jamaican dancehall and reggae
star Vybz Kartel has been found guilty of
murder in a high-profile trial.
He and three co-defendants were
convicted under tight security of killing
an associate, Clive Lizard Williams, in a
row over a missing gun.
Parts of the capital Kingston were
cordoned off in advance of the verdict
and police patrols were stepped up.
Kartel, whose real name is Adidja
Palmer, is one of the biggest names in
Jamaican dancehall reggae.
The BBC's Nick Davis in Kingston says
that Kartel's bleached skin - covered by
tattoos - made him stand out from the
crowd - and the "World Boss" as he
called himself also often glorified
violence in his music.
The 65-day trial was the longest running
criminal hearing in the history of
Jamaica's circuit court system, local
media reported.
Police cordoned off streets around the
Supreme Court before Thursday's
session started, seeking to prevent any
disruption by fans supporting the
entertainer.
Shortly before the jury started to
deliberate in the afternoon, about 200
people briefly broke through barricades
at one intersection shouting "Free
Kartel!"
The sentencing date is scheduled for 27
March and Kartel's lawyers have
indicated they will appeal against the
verdict.
When Kartel was arrested in 2011, it was
alleged he had been involved in two
killings, but one of those cases was
thrown out last year after key evidence
went missing.
Prosecutors said that Williams was
beaten to death at Kartel's home in
August 2011 after being lured there to
account for two missing illegal guns.
A body has never been found but police
testified that they had unearthed a text
message from Kartel's phone saying
Williams had been chopped up to
"mincemeat" so fine that his remains
would never be found.
Defence lawyer Tom Tavares-Finson told
jurors the prosecution's case against
Kartel was "dishonest" and
"incompetent", noting that witness
statements and a compact disc with
evidence saved on it had gone missing.
The AP news agency says that in a
bizarre twist to the case, a male juror
was arrested on Thursday evening on
charges of attempting to bribe the jury
foreman to free Kartel, who was
convicted by a 10-1 majority verdict.-
BBC