Jamaican Star Vybz Kartel Released from Prison After 2014 Murder Conviction Overturned

Kartel, 48, who has worked with Eminem, Rihanna and Jay-Z, always maintained his innocence after being accused of a 2011 murder

<p>Scott Gries/Getty</p> Vybz Kartel poses for a photo backstage during MTV

Scott Gries/Getty

Vybz Kartel poses for a photo backstage during MTV's Tempo network launch celebration in 2005

Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel is a free man after being released from prison after his 2014 murder conviction was overturned, according to reports.

The popular artist who has collaborated with music icons including Eminem, Rihanna and Jay-Z, was sentenced to prison in 2014 after being convicted of killing Clive “Lizard” Williams in Jamaica in 2011, the BBC reports.

Kartel — whose real name is Adidja Palmer — allegedly gave two unlicensed guns to Williams and another man to hold for him, according to court records, the BBC reports. A dispute arose over the missing guns and Williams ended up dead, the BBC reports.

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Williams’ body has never been found, Fox 5 New York reports.

Despite pleading not guilty to the crime, Kartel and three co-defendants – Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St John – were convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison, the BBC reports.

Kartel’s sentence was later decreased to 32-and-a-half years in prison, The New York Times reports.

The star appealed to the Jamaica appeals court before taking the case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, the highest court of appeal for Jamaica and other countries including the Bahamas and Granada, according to the BBC.

In March, the Privy Council in London overturned the conviction, citing alleged juror misconduct, The New York Times reports.

A juror called “Juror X” in court documents had tried to bribe other jurors, court records show, according to the The New York Times.

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“Allowing Juror X to remain on the jury is fatal to the safety of the convictions which followed,” the court said in its ruling. “It was an infringement of the appellants’ fundamental right to a fair hearing under the Jamaican Constitution.”

But a Jamaican appeals court had the final say as to whether or not Kartel would be retried.

On Wednesday, the Jamaican appeals court decided that he would not be retried for the murder.

His lawyers said Kartel spent much of his time in “inhumane” conditions in the prison while battling Graves Disease, which has left him ailing, Fox 5 New York reports.

Lawyers for Kartel could not immediately be reached.

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