Man handed 20 years for murdering neighbour

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a June 2021 Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to 20 years in prison after convicting him of murdering his neighbour in March of 2020. 

The court declared the defendant guilty of stabbing his 27-year-old neighbour after suspecting that he had engaged in an immoral relationship with his wife on February 16.  

The defendant was originally charged with premeditated murder, which the court later amended to the lesser charge of manslaughter because “it was proven to the court that he did not plan the murder”. 

The court handed the defendant the maximum sentence for the manslaughter charge.

Court papers said the defendant suspected that the victim had engaged in “an immoral relationship, and decided to murder his neighbour to defend his honour”. 

“The defendant’s suspicions grew when he saw the victim walking near his house on the day of the incident,” the court maintained. 

The defendant rushed to his house, grabbed a knife and headed back to the street, according to the court papers. 

“The defendant stabbed the victim repeatedly in the stomach and waist, then rushed back to his house to inform his wife that he had killed his neighbour,” the court stated.  

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition, and succumbed to his wounds on March 12.   

The defendant appealed his verdict through his lawyer, who claimed that he murdered the victim “in a moment of rage to cleanse his family’s honour”, according to the court papers.

“My client should benefit from a reduction in penalty because he killed his neighbour to defend his honour,” the lawyer argued.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney asked the Court of Cassation to reject the lower court’s decision to amend the premeditated murder charges to manslaughter. 

“Our investigations into the incident indicated that the defendant had planned the murder,” the court’s attorney stated. 

Therefore, the general attorney maintained, “the defendant deserves a stiffer punishment”. 

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper sentencing procedure.

“The defendant did not provide any evidence to prove that the victim was involved in any relationship with his wife,” the higher court stated. 

Therefore, the higher court stated, “the defendant does not benefit from any reductions in penalty”. 

In responding to the court attorney’s request, the Court of Cassation ruled that “the murder was not committed by the defendant in a premeditated fashion”. 

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi and Mohammad Khashashneh.