Prosecutors in the Netherlands seek an eight-year prison sentence for Jamaican reggae singer Jah Cure for attempted murder when he returns to court on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.
The prosecutor accused the 43-year-old of a “premeditated” act and asked that the singer be charged with attempted murder.
During his summation, the prosecutor recommended that the artist be put away for eight years with “credit for time served.”
The Prison Wall singer, whose given name is Siccaturie Alcock, is accused of stabbing event promoter Nicardo’ Papa’ Blake on October 1 at Dam Square, in the city center of Amsterdam, where he was booked for a performance. Cure had performed at a concert, two days before, in the Melkweg. However, he had not been paid his fee of 5,000 euros.
The singer, who is being represented by Tim Scheffer, entered a self-defense plea on January 12, stating that the entertainer was in possession of a knife on the day of the incident on October 1, 2021, because he was wearing expensive jewelry.
However, that claim was dismissed as “unbelievable” by the prosecutors on Tuesday, as they said the entertainer deliberately sought confrontation. This is evident by the voice messages that the singer sent to the victim and people that he knew.
“The last time you will live to diss man thing,” was one of the messages left on the victim’s cell phone.
Jah Cure’s lawyer Tim Scheffer said it was never the singer’s intention to stab the concert promoter in the first place.
“My client wanted to talk it out and just wanted his money,” he said. The lawyer further stated that the threatening messages that Jah Cure sent prior to the stabbing were “part of the Jamaican reggae culture.”
The prosecution outlined the extent of the victim’s injuries revealing that he stated that the entertainer stabbed him in his stomach, which caused a perforation of the stomach and massive blood loss. They supported their case with evidence from witnesses at the scene of the alleged crime.
According to a witness, Jah Cure said on the Dam Square, just before the incident: “This is the ni–er I have to kill,” and then made a stabbing motion. The witness didn’t see a knife. But he saw the victim clutch his stomach.
Another witness also saw the stabbing motion of the suspect, but he didn’t see a knife according to the prosecution.
“The suspect picked up a knife before the meeting with the victim, not to protect himself for wearing an expensive watch,” the prosecutor argued while attempting to establish premeditation.
Jah Cure has had several brushes with the law. In 1998 he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for raping and robbing a woman at gunpoint and served eight years.
During the last leg of his sentence, the singer’s popularity skyrocketed following the release of his hit singles in 2005 Longing For and Love Is.
The singer has had consistent success since his release from prison. His hit songs include Unconditional Love, and All of Me and he has collaborated with artists such as Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, Tory Lanez, and Mya.
In 2015, the singer released his album The Cure, which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for the Best Reggae Album the following year.
Before his arrest, the singer announced that he was adding the final touches to his new album titled ‘Undeniable’.
