Man sentenced to 10 years after attempted murder of family

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a May Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to 10 years in prison with hard labour after convicting him of the attempted murder of a man and his family in the Jordan Valley in June 2020.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder on June 30 and handed him a 15-year prison term with hard labour.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to 10 years because the victim dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said that the victim was riding in his trailer with his wife and two children when the defendant approached him in his vehicle.

"The defendant rolled down his window and yelled at the victim, telling him that he knew him from before," the court documents said.

The victim responded that he “did not know the defendant and drove away”, the court added.

“The defendant chased the victim and fired several rounds at his vehicle, causing the vehicle’s front window to shatter,” the court papers said.

No one was injured in the shooting incident, the court papers added.

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

The prosecution, the lawyer argued, “failed to prove that my client was the one who fired the shots,” the court documents stated.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 10-year sentence with hard labour 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 Mohammad Ibrahim, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi, Qassem Dughmi and Mohammad Khashashneh.