Vybz Kartel Convicted of Murdering Clive Lizard Williams, Could be Sentenced to More Than 20 Years Imprisonment

Jamaican rapper and dance hall star Vybz Kartel and three of his associates were convicted on Thursday for the murder of Clive "Lizard" Williams, a promoter.

Shawn Campbell (a.k.a. Shawn Storm), Kahira Jones and Andre St. John are the three associates who have been convicted along with Kartel.

Kartel and his associates are to be sentenced on 27 March. The musician could possibly be behind bars for more than 20 years.

Kartel was detained for murder on 13 March, 2011 and since then he has been police custody, reports indicate.

Reportedly, the murder took place at Kartel's home Havendale, a suburban, neighborhood in Kingston, Jamaica, following a fight over two missing guns. Williams was called to Kartel's home to discuss the missing guns, and was beaten to death following an argument.

Although the Williams' body was never recovered, thereby making it difficult to supply concrete evidence against Kartel, the prosecution was able to win the case as several voice and text messages incriminated Kartel.

This included a text message that the Jamaican police found on Kartel's phone stating that Williams' body had been chopped to "mincemeat," the New York Times reported.

Although it took less than two hours to come to a verdict, the trial, which lasted for 65 days, is believed to be the longest running criminal hearing in the history of Jamaica's circuit court system.

Kartel's lawyers have decided to appeal the verdict.

In 2013, the singer was acquitted in yet another murder case. He arrested for murder of Jamaican businessman and promoter Barrington "Bossie"' Burton, and also charged with conspiracy to murder and illegal possession of a firearm.

Kartel is a popular Jamaican artist who has worked with various artist such as Jay Z, Rihanna, Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Eminem and Lil Wayne.
Before being slapped with murder charges, Kartel's 2011 album "Kingston Story" and 2013's "The Voice of the Jamaican Ghetto" were on top of Billboard's U.S. Reggae chart.