Vybz Kartel’s right-hand man, Shawn Storm, wants his fans to deliver a message to the five judges on the UK Privy Council who aired their appeal last week. Urban Islandz reported that the court will hand down a ruling within 12 weeks, which could arrive between now and May of this year.
A confident Shawn Storm, real name Shawn Campbell, is anxious to be exonerated and released from prison. The dancehall artist, who rose to fame during the height of the Portmore Empire era, was one of four men convicted in 2014 for the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. Vybz Kartel, real name Adidja Palmer, Kahira Jones, and Andre St John, are the other three co-defendants convicted during the lengthy murder trial.
The four convicted men lost an appeal to overturn the conviction in the Jamaican Court of Appeal in 2020. Vybz Kartel vowed to take the matter to the highest court, the UK Privy Council, and he did just that after hiring his now lead defense attorney, Isat Buchanan.
After two days of arguments from both sides on the appeal, the five judges on the UK Privy Council now reserve their ruling for a future date, which usually arrives within twelve weeks from the hearing date. Both Vybz Kartel and Shawn Storm have been very optimistic about getting a favorable outcome in the high court in the United Kingdom on the merit that the court is more fair and independent of any potential biases against him in the Jamaican court system.
Shawn Storm shared a video on his IG on Monday with a telling caption. The clip features an image of himself seemingly praying as the gospel song “Hurry Up” provides a fitting soundtrack.
“Unu tell dem 5 judges deh a UK seh fi #HurryUpppppp ‘mi ready to goooooooo’ in JESUS CHRIST NAME my GOD,” he wrote. The artist added in the comments, “Wen GOD a work, tell di HEATHENS nuh badda work.”
via Shawn Storm IG
While some of his fans gave him support in the comments, some folks cautioned him about speaking about the matter publicly before a verdict was handed down. “It’s probably not a good idea to be speaking on the matter since a verdict not yet reached don’t count your eggs before they’re hatched just saying, but wish you all the best still,” one fan wrote.
In the meantime, Vybz Kartel also remains upbeat that he and his co-defendants will be exonerated and potentially not face with a new trial. Defense attorneys argued during the Privy Council hearing that a retrial would not be fair for the four men given how compromised and skewed the 2014 trial was against them.
