Cassation court upholds 20-year sentence for manslaughter

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a recent Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 20 years in prison after convicting him of killing a man in Zarqa, 22km northeast of Amman, in August 2014.

The defendant received the maximum punishment after the Criminal Court reduced the charge from premeditated murder to manslaughter. 

The tribunal convicted the defendant of stabbing a man to death on August 6, 2014 following a heated argument regarding the victim’s son.

“The defendant and the victim had a heated argument because the defendant beat up the child of the victim,” the court said in its ruling.

The argument turned physical, and the “defendant grabbed a switchblade and stabbed the victim three times, including one fatal stab to the heart”, according to the court verdict.

The defendant contested the Criminal Court ruling, and said his sentence should be reduced because the victim’s wife had dropped charges.  

However, the Cassation Court ruled he would not benefit from a reduced penalty as other relatives of the victim had refused to drop charges. 

The Cassation Court comprised judges Yassin Abdullat, Mohammad Tarawneh, Daoud Tubeleh, Bassem Mubeidin and Hussein Sakran.