Vybz Kartel’s Lawyer Optimistic About Privy Council Appeal After Results Of Evidence Tampering Probe

Vybz Kartel‘s attorney Isat Buchanan is optimistic that the UK Privy Council may rule in favor of his client, following an investigation done by digital forensic experts into the Blackberry Torch cellphone that was at the center of the Dancehall artist’s trial for the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams.

Buchanan was speaking exclusively to Lisa Evers from Fox5 New York about the findings of the investigation which happened over the course of a couple of months.

According to him, there were several inconsistencies with the prosecution’s primary evidence which had included eyewitness testimony, as well as numerous text messages, BBMs, voice notes and a video, that were extracted from the Blackberry Torch, an SD card, and a SIM card.

“When there is a gap between the footprints for instance, the video didn’t have any GPS on it, and all other videos on the phone had GPS on it. (They) had the meta data and epoch times in sequence,” the prominent attorney explained to Evers.

The investigation was carried out by David-John Martin Woodgate of UK-based Forint Digital Investigations. In his findings, Woodgate noted that the video which placed Kartel at the scene of the crime, was not in alignment with his actual location. Buchanan said the embattled deejay was at the hospital at the time of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams’ murder, reportedly for a dog bite.

“Tampering or misreporting of the time which was crucial. So, the time was clearly changed to fit the prosecution’s case,” he added.

The forensic digital expert further noted that the cellphone was used to make calls after it was confiscated from the deejay, and was not kept in a sealed evidence bag.

“There was no explanation as to storage mechanism; why was the bag opened, why wasn’t it locked, who opened it, who would’ve touched it before, during, after…all of that. So, those concerns were raised by the expert,” Buchanan continued.

Eye Witness Testimony

In addition to the cellphone evidence, prosecutors also relied on the sole eyewitness, Lamar “Wee” Chow, who made an account of the events that took place on August 16, 2011.

Wee testified that on that day he had accompanied Shawn ‘Storm’ Campbell and Lizard (the deceased) to Kartel’s Havendale home, where they were summoned over missing firearms.  Wee said Kartel, Andre St. John and Kahira Jones were already present at the house.

According to Wee, while they were being questioned by Kartel about the guns, Jones held Lizard from behind, while he (Wee) immediately ran into another room.  Wee added that Kartel and Campbell forcibly brought him back to the room, where he saw Lizard lying motionless on his back, with Jones bending over him and St. John holding a building block in his hands.

Wee claimed that he feared for his own safety, so he fled again, this time running from the house by climbing over a gate.  He testified that he was chased by Kartel, who later assured him that he had nothing to worry about.  However, instead of returning to the house, Wee said he accompanied Kartel to a hospital where he was treated for a dog bite that the deejay had apparently received during the chase.

Kartel’s defense questioned Wee’s credibility during the trial and cited his inconsistent account of the events, including a purported letter by Wee to a Public Defender which stated that he saw Lizard after August 16, 2011, and that he had been pressured by the police to give a conflicting statement.

Lizard’s body was never found, but Kartel, Storm, Jones and St John were all convicted of his murder on April 3, 2014.  All four men received life sentences from Justice Lennox Campbell.

Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, was initially given 35 years before being eligible for parole. It was, however, reduced to 32 years and six months, following an appeal last year. 

St John, who had to serve 30 years before being eligible for parole, had his time shaved down to 27 years and six months. Shawn Storm and Jones, who had to serve 25 years before being eligible, had theirs reduced to 22 years and six months.

The Privy Council appeal is to be heard next year.

Buchanan told Evers, “I’m very happy and optimistic about being before the Privy Council. It is the final court, and justice is for all.”