Cassation Court upholds 12-year sentence for man convicted of attempted murder

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a March Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to 12 years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man with a baseball bat in Amman in November 2023.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant, a cleaning worker, guilty of attempting to murder a man who was visiting a public park in the Marj Hammam area on November 11.

The defendant was given the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the victim was at the park where the defendant worked.

"An argument ensued between the two and the defendant grabbed a baseball bat and struck the victim once in the head," court documents said.

The defendant then fled from the area and was arrested later by police, the court papers stated.

Meanwhile, the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital suffering from a brain haemorrhage and survived the attack due to medical intervention, according to court documents.

The defendant contested his ruling via his lawyer arguing that “there were legal irregularities during the investigation process”.

The defence also argued that the court relied on contradictory statements by some witnesses.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 12-year sentence ruling.

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and that the defendant was given the appropriate punishment.

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mahmoud Ebtoush, Nayef Samarat, Qassem Dughmi, Mohammad Khashashneh and Hammad Ghzawi.