Popular Jamaican dancehall and reggae artist Vybz Kartel has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2011 murder of former associate Clive "Lizard" Williams. He will serve 35 years in jail before he will be eligible for parole.

The 38-year-old singer, who was born Adidja Palmer, was sentenced to life following a trial that lasted more than 65 days.

He and three others were found guilty of killing Williams at his home in Havendale, a suburb north of Kingston, in August 2011. His co-defendants Shawn Campbell and Kahira Jones will serve a minimum of 25 years behind bars, while Andre St John will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years of a life sentence. The fifth defendant, Shane Williams, was acquitted.

"As far as [Kartel] is concerned, we are not surprised about the sentence based on the posture of the judge at this stage," one of Kartel's lawyers, Christian Tavares-Finson said, reports the Jamaica Gleaner. "We will be appealing both conviction and sentence on instructions from our clients. Kartel has maintained his innocence, and that he's interested in appealing his conviction."

Officials say that Williams was killed after being accused of stealing two guns from Kartel and other members of his crew. Although the victim's body was never found, Kartel was said to have described the corpse in text messages: "Tween me an u a chop we chop up the bwoy Lizard fine fine," Kartel allegedly wrote, according to The Guardian. "Yeah man a mince meat dat ... As long as u live dem can never find him."

Justice Lennox Campbell is currently considering whether Kartel, a world renowned reggae artist, will be allowed to record and release music from prison.