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Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel released from prison after 13 years

Court of appeal rules against a retrial for artist convicted of murder in 2014

Jamaican dancehall vocalist Vybz Kartel has had his conviction quashed due to bribery attempts by one of the original jurors and been freed from prison after 13 years. He released his debut album Up 2 Di Time in 2003, crossed over into the US R&B chart in 2009 with the sexually explicit Spice duet Romping Shop, and has appeared on tracks with the likes of Rihanna, Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes. But she added that “several equally powerful factors, which when combined, militate against ordering a new trial”, including the unavailability of witnesses and the amount of time elapsed since the alleged offence.

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