Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for manslaughter

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a December 2022 Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 20 years in prison after convicting him of murdering a man in Amman in November 2021. 

The court declared the defendant guilty of stabbing the victim with a switchblade on November 22 in an eastern Amman suburb. 

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

Court papers said the defendant met with the victim in the market and a heated argument ensued over an old feud.     

“The defendant drew a switchblade and stabbed the victim once in the chest,” court transcripts maintained. 

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival, the court added. 

The defendant was later arrested by police and ushered police to where he dumped the switchblade “that was used in the stabbing incident”, the court papers stated. 

The court stated that the weapon was analysed by the Forensic and Laboratory Department (FLD) which confirmed that the blood found on the switchblade belonged to the victim. 

The FLD technician also confirmed that they detected DNA traces that belonged to the victim on the weapon, the court added.  

The defendant contested his verdict through his court-appointed lawyer arguing that he killed the victim in self-defence. 

“My client deserves a reduced punishment since he stabbed the victim after the latter drew a paper cutter and slashed him in the arm with it,” the lawyer charged.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney asked the Court of Cassation to uphold the ruling. 

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedure when sentencing and the defendant deserved the verdict he received.  

“The defendant could have just walked away instead of stabbing the victim in the chest,” the higher court ruled. 

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