Cassation Court upholds ruling in Tafileh murder case

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld an April Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 20 years in prison for murdering his brother in Tafileh in June 2014 

The Criminal Court convicted the defendant of shooting his brother to death with a rifle over a personal dispute.

The Criminal Court decided to amend the premeditated murder charge to manslaughter and handed the defendant a 20-year prison term.

The court said the two brothers were constantly arguing and the defendant had often threatened to kill the victim.

A few days before the incident, the defendant sent his sons to the victim’s house and they set it ablaze, the Criminal Court verdict said.

“The defendant decided to kill his brother and on June 29 he went to his house and fired five rounds at him that killed him,” the court verdict said.   

The attorney general at the Criminal Court had contested the verdict stating that the tribunal should not amend the premeditated murder charge to manslaughter.

“The defendant plotted the murder and thought about it carefully and calmly and deserves a tougher punishment,” the attorney general said.

But the Cassation Court, which issued its ruling a few months ago, said the Criminal Court verdict falls within the law and that the defendant deserved the sentence he received.

“The prosecution failed to provide any evidence that the defendant plotted the murder, and it was evident to us that he committed the crime while in a state of anger. The plotting part does not exist,” the higher court ruled.

The Cassation Court tribunal comprised judges Mahmoud Ababneh, Basel Abu Anzeh, Yassin Abdullat, Mohammad Tarawneh and Hussein Sakran.