Vybz Kartel was sentenced to life in prison Thursday (April 3) by a justice in Jamaica's Supreme Court for the murder of a former associate. According to Billboard, Kartel — née Adidja Palmer — must serve a minimum of 35 years behind bars before he will be eligible for parole.

In March, a jury convicted the embattled recording artist and three other men, Shawn "Shawn Storm" Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St. John, in the 2011 death of Clive "Lizard" Williams, a former associate of the dancehall star. All received life sentences. Campbell and Jones will serve 25 years before they can go up for parole, and St. John must do at least 30. 

Another man, Shane Williams, was acquitted. He has since been charged in a separate murder case. 

With more than 50 days of court proceedings, Kartel's trial was the longest of its kind in the history of Jamaica's Circuit Court. His attorney, Tom Tavares-Finson, plans to appeal the guilty verdict, claiming inconsistencies in evidence, falsified phone records, and misconduct among investigators in the case. 

Williams' body has never been found. Tavares-Finson has asked prosecutors to investigate the validity of several allegations, including an alleged text message from Kartel bragging about chopping up the victim.

Kartel was acquitted in a separate murder trial last year, and has said that he has been used as a "scapegoat for crime."

In August he will once again face off against Jamaica's justice system, this time regarding allegations that he helped corroborate a fake robbery story in the Williams case.      

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(Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)