Shawn Storm’s lawyers deny ‘misinformation campaign’ against DPP following Privy Council ruling
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Attorneys-at-law for Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, one of the co-accused in the high-profile Vybz Kartel murder case, says they are unaware of any ‘campaign of misinformation’ by counsels to intimidate the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
This after statements made by DPP Paula Llewellyn in which she expressed the need to speak on several issues surrounding the case the Privy Council ruled on Thursday should be considered for a retrial.
The DPP, in an interview with Jamaica Observer, said she believes certain discourse now in the public sphere, amounts to an attempt to bring her office “into disrepute.”
READ: DPP says ‘campaign of misinformation’ aimed at intimidating her office after Kartel ruling
However, in a release on Monday, the office of Bert Samuels, the lead lawyer for Campbell, said it was unaware of any misinformation campaign and denied any involvement.
“We also note media reports indicating the DPP’s published view that a misinformation campaign is aimed at intimidating her office after the Kartell ruling. We are unaware of such a campaign and are not a part of it. None of us, the Defence Counsel, in this matter, intend to bring the office of the DPP ‘into disrepute’ or to rile up any wayward soul to take any (in)action against the crown or any public servant,” the statement read in part.
“As ministers of Justice, we are only focused on a just outcome in this matter and would ask all persons to desist from any PR campaign in this matter.”
Outlining that it would never “dream of taking any actions outlined by the learned DPP,” the lawyers indicated that after more than a decade of imprisonment, they are looking forward to arguing their case for a possible retrial as per the Privy Council ruling. They also went on to highlight that any discourse regarding the controversial murder case and any ‘miscarriage of justice’ was simply to “underline the importance of the DPP/or her office learning the lessons from this teachable moment.”
“We suspect that our view of the just outcome of the retrial issue differs significantly from that of the DPP and/or other sectors of the public,” their statement continued. “We expect the crown to prosecute, while we will try to provide our client a fair and strong response. We will focus on preparing our submissions for the Court of Appeal and acting as responsible legal professionals.”
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council last Thursday quashed the murder convictions of Adidja “Vybz Kartel” Palmer and his co-accused Shawn “Shawn Storm” Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St John for the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams and remitted the question of whether there should be a retrial to Jamaica’s Appeal Court.
READ: Conviction Quashed: Privy Council sends Kartel case back to local Appeal Court