A man who admitted stabbing his girlfriend 20 times in a frenzied attack believes they will get together again in the future.

But Andre Terrance Minors is "living in a dream world'' according to Crown Counsel Ms Sharon Kenny, who is prosecuting him for attempted murder, in Supreme Court.

His former girlfriend Crystal Pearman, the mother of his four-year-old daughter, is reported to have said she hopes he never gets out of jail.

Minors, 28, of Hamilton Parish, faces a possible 20 years in prison depending on today's sentencing by Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr. Justice Ward.

Minors stabbed Pearman on October 13, 1991 while she tried to drive to work.

He claimed he was meeting her to take their daughter out for the day.

He said Pearman had not brought his daughter and she had driven her cycle at him, hitting his lower groin.

Minors said he reacted with "anger and no thought'' and did something he thought he was incapable of doing. He had found the three inch long knife earlier.

Ms Kenny said: "You acted with anger and without thought and stabbed her at least 20 times. This is how you react to stress.'' The defendant replied: "I am only human. A human can only take so much before he explodes. That's why a number of us end up in St. Brendan's because of too much strain and pressure.'' Since then, Pearman has received $70,000 from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.

The Judge has already found in favour of the prosecution which attempted to prove the stabbing was not a one-off incident.

Mr. Justice Ward said: "I do not believe the defendant to be a truthful witness. His demeanour was unsatisfactory. His constant smiling showed he did not take this case seriously.'' Det. Con. Mark Clark read out a list of violent crimes by Minors and said they have had nine reported domestic assaults involving the couple, "several'' of which led to injuries to Pearman.

Probation Officer Mr. Alfred Maybury, who prepared a social inquiry report on Minors, said school reports had stated: "He should learn to control his temper and his tongue.'' The reports also described him as "disruptive'' and mentioned an attack at school where he knocked a girl's teeth out.

Ms Kenny said: "The history of this individual show that Mr. Minors is a violent and dangerous man. He has a long history of violence including the use of weapons.'' Regarding Minors's statement that he did not believe he was capable of the attack, Ms Kenny said: "This is a strange statement for someone party to violence for a good part of his life.

"He appears to be under some delusion about he and Crystal getting back together. He has not come to terms with what he has done, in fact, he is living in a dream world when it comes to his future.

"Miss Pearman hopes he does not get out because she is scared. How does a father tell his daughter that he, at one point, tried to kill her mother?'' Ms Kenny said Minors had tried to downplay the attack and claimed he did not need psychological help. She said he appears to blame Miss Pearman's mother for the incident.

She said: "The protection of the public is of paramount importance. The maximum sentence for this offence is 20 years and the Crown says you cannot see one more serious than this.'' Defending Minors, Ms Patricia Harvey will speak against giving her client the maximum sentence today.

Ms Harvey pointed out that the reported violent incidents between the couple had never led to prosecutions.

While being questioned by Ms Harvey, Minors denied claims that he had threatened to kill his girlfriend in the past or been violent towards her.