Cassation Court upholds 8-year sentence for attempted murder

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a February Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to eight years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man in August 2022.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder on August 9 and handed him a 12-year prison term with hard labour.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to eight years because the victim dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said the victim and the defendant resided in a dorm.

"The defendant engaged in a heated argument with the victim then punched him in the face," court documents said.

The victim left the room and went outside to make a phone call, the court added.

“The defendant followed him and stabbed him once in the chest with a knife,” court papers said.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital and survived the stabbing incident, the court papers added.

The defendant contested his ruling via his lawyer arguing that there were “legal errors in the investigation procedures”.

The lawyer also argued that the court relied on “contradictory statements by the witnesses”.

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

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, Hammad Ghzawi, Mohammad Shreiri, and Mohammad Khashashneh.