Kenneth Jermaine Burgess launched a vicious attack on Dennis Alma Robinson in Westgate, telling him to clear his name over the Cooper twins case or his infant daughter would be harmed.

That was the claim from Robinson, 38, as he began evidence at Supreme Court yesterday against Burgess and Kamel Jamel Wendell Trott, who is alleged to have assisted in the attack.

Robinson told the jury he believed he was going to die when Burgess beat and threatened to kill him before instructing him "to write an affidavit clearing him of any and all responsibility" in the Cooper case during his own appeal.

He was left with serious face and head injuries.

Burgess, 36, and Trott, 32, deny wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Opening their trial yesterday morning Director of Public Prosecutions Rory Field told the jury:"All three men, that's the alleged victim and the two defendants, were all inmates at Westgate Correctional Facility on June 6, 2007. The prosecution will say that defendant Burgess decided to take action against Mr. Robinson and when I say action, he decided to very seriously attack him that day. The prosecution say there was a reason for this – Mr. Burgess was motivated by the fact that he blamed Mr. Robinson for his incarceration in Westgate.

"Let me go back in time for a moment – before June 6, 2007, the alleged victim, Mr. Dennis Robinson, and one of the two defendants, Mr. Burgess, had been co-defendants in an earlier trial. In that trial they were both found guilty and it's said by the prosecution that this attack we are dealing with followed directly from Mr. Burgess blaming the victim for the fact that he was in prison. "

Mr. Field did not reveal what the earlier trial had been about. The jury had previously heard from judge Charles-Etta Simmons during the jury selection process last week that the names of murdered twins Jahmal and Jahmil Cooper would be a feature of the case, but she did not explain their relevance.

Yesterday, Mr. Field urged:"This case is not about the earlier trial. This case is about what happened on June 6, 2007. You should listen to the evidence in this trial without prejudice or favour relating to the earlier trial or anything else. The only relevance of the earlier trial is it created motivation for Mr. Burgess to attack Mr. Robinson."

Mr. Field alleged that Trott joined the attack shortly after it started. "The prosecution will say that the two men beat Mr. Robinson for a sustained period, with ferocious force and the result was that they seriously injured him."

Taking the witness stand yesterday afternoon, Robinson said he'd known Burgess for around 18 years and they had attended university together. On the day in question, he said he was doing push ups outside his cell in the E2 block around 9 a.m. during an exercise break. Burgess approached, and asked if he could speak to him for a second in private and Robinson agreed.

However, he claimed that when he went into his cell to remove his personal stereo and headphones, Burgess struck him twice in the left eye with "very heavy" blows. Robinson said he attempted to shield his face from Burgess, who he described as a very strong man who is physically bigger than him

"After that he began ranting at me and he kept continuing throwing punches saying that it was my fault that he was incarcerated and it's my fault that he can't answer his daughter as to when he's coming out," he told the jury.

After more punches, he said Burgess called in Kamel Trott, and when he tried to escape the pair overpowered him and pushed him back into his cell. He claimed that the attack continued, with Burgess as more of an aggressor, but each taking turns to hit him with their fists.

"That's when Burgess started saying to me that he wanted to kill me and that I should know that he would kill me because he's killed before," he alleged

Asked by Mr. Field how that made him feel, Robinson replied:"I was fearful for my life to be honest with you. At that time I thought that I was going to die, simply because there was no rest. It was relentless and (because of) the ferocity of the attacks. Plus the state of mind – when someone's in a frenzy, when someone's worked up."

At this point, Robinson claimed in relation to Burgess: "That's when he started ranting and raving at me, oh I'd better fix this case. Fix this case in regards to the Cooper twins and how he wanted me to fix it – to write him an affidavit clearing him of any and all responsibility. And I can only assume that would mean that I would have to take responsibility. And because I never really acknowledged him, that's when he said he had a plan for if I didn't do it.

"Robinson went on to allege:"His plan was that Kamel Trott was leaving Westgate in a few days, and if I didn't do exactly what he said, Kamel Trott was going to commit acts of violence against my family, specifically my daughter. She was three at the time."

He estimated that the attack up to this point had lasted 35 to 40 minutes, maybe longer.

"I guess my silence must have irritated him (Burgess)further and that's when he said, 'F**k it, give me the knife, I'm going to kill him', to Kamel Trott."

Robinson alleged that Trott pulled up the waistband of his pants and he glimpsed what appeared to be a home-made knife. He concluded yesterday's evidence by explaining to the jury that when Burgess told him to "fix the case" he understood this to be a reference to his own appeal in the Cooper case, which was due that month. He is due to re-take the witness stand this morning.

The jury heard during Mr. Field's opening speech that Burgess and Trott eventually left and Robinson was discovered inside his cell, bloody and battered, by a prison officer who came to lock up after the exercise break around 12.30 p.m.

The case continues.