Jah Cure Returns To Court Next Month Ahead Of New Trial For Attempted Murder

While the trial triggered by an appeal lodged by the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service against Jah Cure‘s acquittal on attempted murder charges is still months away, there is a pro forma court date scheduled for May 17 for the Behind These Prison Walls singer.

Tuscha Essed, press officer of Netherlands Public Prosecution Service explained to DancehallMag that the court date is “not a substantial hearing” and a mere formality in the Dutch justice system.

“During the pro forma hearing a judge will decide on the (continuing of the) detention of the suspect, while the prosecution is preparing the case. If the judge decides to detain the suspect longer, this will be for a period of 90 days – after which (by law) either the case must go on trial or another pro forma hearing has to take place. The actual trial of the case will probably be months from now,” Essed explained.

The pro forma is a short formal/procedural matter (usually 10-20 minutes or so), to decide if the suspect should be kept in detention (because Dutch law dictates that is reviewed every 90 days).

In March 2022, Jah Cure, 43, whose real name is Siccature Alcock, was acquitted of an attempted murder charge, but convicted of the lesser offense of attempted manslaughter on March 22 in relation to the stabbing of a promoter over unpaid money in October 2021.  He was sentenced to six years in prison in The Netherlands.

Following the sentence, 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 by DancehallMag.

Jah Cure is known for his hit songs Longing For (2005) and Love Is (2005)—which he admitted were recorded illegally while serving eight years in prison in Jamaica for rape—and True Reflection (Prison Walls) (2007), which was sanctioned under the prison’s “Rehabilitation Through Music” program.

He’s also known for Never Find, the John Legend cover All Of Me, That Girl, Wake Up, and What Will It Take.  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.

Cure’s latest song is Blood In The Water, which was released in February 2022. Last September, before his arrest, he had announced that he was adding the final touches to a new album, titled Undeniable.