REGGAE singer Jah Cure, who is currently serving a six-year sentence in a Netherlands prison for attempted manslaughter, is slated to return to court today.
“It is required by law that every 90 days the court decides if the suspect should be detained for another 90 days,” said Tuscha Essed, press officer of the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service.
In March 2022 Jah Cure (given name Siccature Alcock) was sentenced to six years for stabbing a show promoter over unpaid monies. The singer was acquitted of the more serious charge of attempted murder. He has been incarcerated since October 2021.
According to police report, Jah Cure, 43, stabbed show promoter Nicardo “Papa” Blake in his abdomen at Dam Square in Amsterdam in October 2021. Blake, the principal of Roots Vibes, which stages reggae shows in the Netherlands, was reportedly later hospitalised.
“These are grave crimes that not only have consequences for the personal integrity of the victim, but [have] also severely shaken the legal order. Because the victim was stabbed in broad daylight, and in the busy city centre of Amsterdam, it evokes feelings of unsafety among the general public,” said prosecutors at the singer’s trial.
Following the singer’s sentencing, Dutch prosecutors appealed to the court against the acquittal of the attempted murder charge.
Jah Cure’s attorney Jan-Hein Kuijpers has not yet responded to a request for comment from the Jamaica Observer.
Throughout the years, Jah Cure has had several brushes with the law. He was convicted of rape and illegal possession of a firearm in April 1999 and served eight of a 15-year sentence in prison. He was released in July 2007.
Incidentally, his first concert after being released from prison took place in the Netherlands at the Reggae Sundance festival in August 2007. He was the headlining act.
Jah Cure is known for the hit songs Longing For, Love Is (2005), and True Reflection (Prison Walls). His 2015 album, The Cure, which included the songs That Girl, Rasta, and Life We Live, earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Reggae Album that year.