Juror in Vybz Kartel Murder Trial Found Guilty of $500,000 Bribery
Livingston Cain, a juror in dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel’s murder trial for the death of Clive “Lizard” Williams, was found guilty of bribing another juror to influence a not-guilty verdict.
On Tuesday, December 13, at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, along with being accused of bribing the jury foreman with a sum of $500,000, Cain was also charged with perverting the course of justice. This was in the case of Adidja “Vybz Kartel” Palmer, Kahiro Jones, Shawn Campbell, and Andre St John, who were all charged in connection with the murder of Williams in Havendale, St. Andrew, in August of 2011.
The accused, who will be sentenced on March 2, 2023, was previously released on bail for eight years, but this decision was overturned subsequent to his guilty verdict in court on Tuesday by Judge Maxine Ellis. His attorney, Valerie Neita-Robertson declared that she would be filing for an appeal.
On November 22, Parish Judge Maxine Ellis was adamant about not wanting to prolong the court proceedings into a new year and suggested that the court come to a verdict by the end of 2022.
“I would prefer finishing this matter in this calendar year so I don’t have to mark another anniversary. I have now set the matter for summation. All things being equal, this matter is going to be completed on December 13,” Judge Ellis mentioned on the date stated above.
Neita-Robertson is said to have raised multiple important points in court, namely questioning the validity of the core statement against her client and pointing out discrepancies. She also questioned why the case was not thrown out after her finds were listed.
According to Neita-Robertson, the female juror who was allegedly bribed by her client claims to have been offered a $500,000 payout to give a not-guilty verdict at the trial. However, based on a recorded conversation between the two, the context of the discussion was unclear. She also cited the juror stating, “‘So you want me to influence them fi leggo di man dem and den wi talk? Mi nuh understand da piece deh.'”
Neita-Robertson also mentioned that this was all the juror’s account of what happened and due to the recording not being clear, she returned to strike up a conversation with Cain in order to get him on tape by prompting, “‘What is in it for me, Mr Cain? Weh you ago get $500,000 from and you always say you nuh have no money?'”. Cain’s attorney pointed out that the statements above could be seen as a corroboration.
Furthermore, she argued that Cain is in this predicament because he mentioned that he would be entering a not guilty vote, which he suggested that others should do as well, which resulted in a case being fabricated against him. With the issue of plausibility at the center of the case, the attorney vocalized that the Crown was lax in dismissing the verdict due to the presence of the case’s material aspects.
