Man sentenced to 10 years for attempted murder

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a May Criminal Court ruling, sentencing a man to 10 years in prison after convicting him of attempting to murder a man in Amman in October 2022.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempted murder on October  16 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 the defendant would often argue with his neighbour about parking spot rights.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, an argument ensued between the defendant and the group of people regarding the parking spot.

"The defendant grabbed a pump action gun and fired one round at the men he was arguing with but the bullet struck the victim who was standing nearby watching what was happening," court documents said.

The victim was struck in the chest with the bullet and was rushed to a nearby hospital where he survived the shooting incident due to medical intervention, the court said.

The defendant did not appeal his verdict at a higher court. 

The Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the 10-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.