KINGSTON, Jamaica — Comments by Justice Lennox Campbell to jurors in the Vybz Kartel murder trial Friday afternoon raised eyebrows in the Home Circuit Court.
The judge inadvertently told jurors that Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams was dead, saying, “The person who is dead is his friend” in reference to the prosecution’s main witness.
The judge’s statement caused two defence attorneys to look at each other and comment astonished “The person who is dead?”
Campbell earlier in his summation told the jurors that the first thing they needed to decide was if Williams was dead.
Later in summing up the main witness’ evidence, Campbell told the jurors that the main witness had testified that he was scared.
“Ladies and gentlemen, these are not soft guys. These are men who locked guns. These are men who you wouldn’t think scare easily. Their knees wouldn’t buckle easily. What he’s telling you is that they were scared the situation they were in.”
