Vybz Kartel and Shawn Storm

Dancehall entertainers Vybz Kartel and Shawn Storm want to spend Christmas at home with their families.

Bert Samuels who is representing Shawn Storm says, the deejay is optimistic and anxious that they will be vindicated before the end of the year.

“It is now one year and six months since the court reserved, so my client anxiety is heightening,” Samuels told The Jamaica Star. “He is in high spirits and is hoping that he will not have to spend Christmas where he is, but will be able to rejoin his family.”

Vybz Kartel, whose given name is Adidja Palmer, along with fellow entertainer Shawn Storm, Andre St John, and Kahira Jones were found guilty in 2014 of the 2011 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams after a trial lasted for 65 days.

They were all given mandatory life sentences with the self-proclaimed “Worl’Boss”, ordered to serve 35 years before he is eligible for parole. Campbell, Jones and St John were ordered to each serve 25 years before they become eligible for parole.

Last summer, they made an appeal against their murder convictions in the Supreme Court. In nearly five days of legal submissions, the attorneys for Kartel and his three co-convicts argued that their right to a fair trial was prejudiced by a number of factors.

Among them, the admission of ‘contaminated’ evidence during their 17-week murder trial. Chief among the ‘contaminated’ evidence was a BlackBerry message that was lifted from the deejay’s mobile phone. During the appeal, the Prosecution argued that the integrity of the evidence remains intact and asked the judges to treat the message as an admission to murder.