Guilty! How the Kartel trial shamed a nation
BY RICARDO BROOKS
Monday, March 24, 2014 18 Comments
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Guilty! How the Kartel trial shamed a nation
AFTER deliberating for just about two hours, the 11-member jury panel returned its verdict. The three men and eight women found Adidja Palmer, and three of his four co-accused, guilty of the murder of Clive "Lizard" Williams. The verdict has put to rest a legal drama that began in 2011, one which fascinated and mystified the nation, but there were more sinister undercurrents at play here.
As much as my own conscience tells me justice has been done, and as much as I would rather not see any selfless heroism in a convicted murderer, I am unable to shake the feeling that, in the end, Vybz Kartel was able to serve as a living testament, a sacrificial lamb of sorts, for many of the realities dancehall music has explored over the years. Kartel's arrest, trial and conviction put the very state on trial and, on nearly all counts, Jamaica was found guilty.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...ation_16309709
BY RICARDO BROOKS
Monday, March 24, 2014 18 Comments
Print this page Email A Friend!
Guilty! How the Kartel trial shamed a nation
AFTER deliberating for just about two hours, the 11-member jury panel returned its verdict. The three men and eight women found Adidja Palmer, and three of his four co-accused, guilty of the murder of Clive "Lizard" Williams. The verdict has put to rest a legal drama that began in 2011, one which fascinated and mystified the nation, but there were more sinister undercurrents at play here.
As much as my own conscience tells me justice has been done, and as much as I would rather not see any selfless heroism in a convicted murderer, I am unable to shake the feeling that, in the end, Vybz Kartel was able to serve as a living testament, a sacrificial lamb of sorts, for many of the realities dancehall music has explored over the years. Kartel's arrest, trial and conviction put the very state on trial and, on nearly all counts, Jamaica was found guilty.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...ation_16309709
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