Last year , family, friends and fans of Adidja Palmer sat nervously waiting for a verdict in the then alleged murder of Barrington “Bossie” Burton. Objectively, anyone with a fourth grade education would have seen right through the Prosecution’s case and appreciated the judge’s wisdom in instructing the jury to come back with the verdict, the only sensible verdict; not guilty. However, there was a collective fear in every inner city that the presiding judge would not do the right thing, the brave thing and set the man who the status quo bourgeoisie Jamaica loves to hate, free, based on evidence or more accurately, lack thereof. Thankfully, the learned judge Bryan Sykes, did the right thing and an innocent man and his co-accused did not get unfairly sentenced; instead he was justly freed because the learned judge stood up for the law and did not give in to the powers that be who wanted to lock up Kartel and throw away the key without evidence. Unfortunately, society was to get another shot later in that year and many suspected regardless of the evidence or circumstances; many people feared that Vybz Kartel was going to pay for his music and for the influence he had on the poor people of Jamaica. Historically, only politicians have had that influence in Jamaica and any musician that challenged that power ended up dead or in trouble with the law – that is not an opinion, that is a historical fact.
Fast forward, one year today. In the view of many, another judge did not do the right thing in the next trial and allowed obviously tampered evidence to be utilized to convict the same man. It became the sentiment in the inner cities of Jamaica that it just “had to go so because a Kartel.” Despite tampered evidence, despite missing evidence, despite the master CD (the only authentic piece of evidence that could validate the phone evidence) being mysteriously missing, despite the missing notebook of the lead arresting officer, despite the missing pages from witnesses’ statements, despite the DNA being negative, despite conflicting timelines, despite absent witnesses, despite no body, despite no murder weapon, despite the crime scene being left unsecured for days by the police, despite not even confirmation that Clive Williams is deceased, Adidja Palmer had to go to jail so society could get rid of him for the murder of a man who no one on the planet can show conclusive evidence that he is indeed dead. Yes, this happened, not in a KKK controlled courtroom to a black man in Jim Crow’s racist Mississippi in the 1960s but to a born Jamaican in Kingston, Jamaica in March 2014 in the plain view of the judiciary, human rights groups and the church who all said or did nothing.Read More: http://dancehallarena.com/vybz-kartel-guilty-one-year-later/Friday, 26 December 2014
Last year , family, friends and fans of Adidja Palmer sat nervously waiting for a verdict in the then alleged murder of Barrington “Bossie” Burton. Objectively, anyone with a fourth grade education would have seen right through the Prosecution’s case and appreciated the judge’s wisdom in instructing the jury to come back with the verdict, the only sensible verdict; not guilty. However, there was a collective fear in every inner city that the presiding judge would not do the right thing, the brave thing and set the man who the status quo bourgeoisie Jamaica loves to hate, free, based on evidence or more accurately, lack thereof. Thankfully, the learned judge Bryan Sykes, did the right thing and an innocent man and his co-accused did not get unfairly sentenced; instead he was justly freed because the learned judge stood up for the law and did not give in to the powers that be who wanted to lock up Kartel and throw away the key without evidence. Unfortunately, society was to get another shot later in that year and many suspected regardless of the evidence or circumstances; many people feared that Vybz Kartel was going to pay for his music and for the influence he had on the poor people of Jamaica. Historically, only politicians have had that influence in Jamaica and any musician that challenged that power ended up dead or in trouble with the law – that is not an opinion, that is a historical fact.
Fast forward, one year today. In the view of many, another judge did not do the right thing in the next trial and allowed obviously tampered evidence to be utilized to convict the same man. It became the sentiment in the inner cities of Jamaica that it just “had to go so because a Kartel.” Despite tampered evidence, despite missing evidence, despite the master CD (the only authentic piece of evidence that could validate the phone evidence) being mysteriously missing, despite the missing notebook of the lead arresting officer, despite the missing pages from witnesses’ statements, despite the DNA being negative, despite conflicting timelines, despite absent witnesses, despite no body, despite no murder weapon, despite the crime scene being left unsecured for days by the police, despite not even confirmation that Clive Williams is deceased, Adidja Palmer had to go to jail so society could get rid of him for the murder of a man who no one on the planet can show conclusive evidence that he is indeed dead. Yes, this happened, not in a KKK controlled courtroom to a black man in Jim Crow’s racist Mississippi in the 1960s but to a born Jamaican in Kingston, Jamaica in March 2014 in the plain view of the judiciary, human rights groups and the church who all said or did nothing.Read More: http://dancehallarena.com/vybz-kartel-guilty-one-year-later/
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