Jah Cure’s Follow Up Court Date Denies Early Release

It was ruled in a Netherlands court on Tuesday, August 9 that Jah Cure, birth name Siccature Alcock, should carry on with serving his six-year-long sentence for attempted manslaughter instead of receiving a lighter penalty.

The Reggae entertainer is popularly known for his songs True Reflection (Prison Walls [written and produced as a part of his rehabilitation while in prison]), Love Is, and Longing For. Following the ruling on Tuesday, he is scheduled to return to court on November 1 for a pro forma hearing, which is one that takes place every ninety days by Dutch Law, and determines if an individual/s should remain in confinement.

In March 2022, the 43-year-old artiste was sentenced to a period of six years for stabbing a show promoter because he owed him outstanding money, he has been incarcerated since October of 2021. Jah Cure was acquitted of the attempted murder charge, which is a more serious charge than attempted manslaughter. Police reports state that Jah Cure stabbed Nicardo “Papa” Blake, a show promoter, in Amsterdam at Dam Square that same month. Blake is the principal of Root Vibes, the party that hosts reggae shows in the Netherlands. He was reportedly hospitalized for an abdominal wound following the incident.

After the sentencing procedure, the Dutch prosecutors made an appeal to the court to revoke the acquittal of the attempted murder charge.

In a statement issued to the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday by Tuscha Essed (a press officer from the Netherlands that is related to the Public Prosecution Office to the Court of Appeals), it was divulged that during the court session “where the judge solely decides on the continuation of the incarceration,” it was decided that Jah Cure would continue to serve his sentence.

Jah Cure has been in and out of prison before, namely when he was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm and rape in April 1999 for 15 years, of which he only served eight and was released in July 2007. His first performance after his release was also in the Netherlands where he was scheduled as the headlining act at the Sundance festival in August of that year.