10-year-jail term for man who accidentally shot brother to death

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an April Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 10 years in prison after convicting him of accidentally killing his brother and attempting to kill another man following a heated argument in Jizah town in July 2016.

The court declared the defendant guilty of the accidental shooting of his brother and the attempted murder of a man on July 28 and handed him a 20-year prison term.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to 10 years in prison because his family dropped the charges against him. 

Court papers said the defendant, an electrician, was driving a mini-van in a reckless manner and passed by the victim’s shop.

“The victim, who owned a vehicle accessories shop, asked the defendant to refrain from driving in a reckless manner so the defendant became enraged and said he would ‘be back for him’,” court papers said.

The defendant went home and picked up his brother, and headed back to the victim’s shop where the three started arguing.

“The defendant and his brother engaged in a fistfight with the victim,” according to court documents, which noted that the defendant went back to grab a pump-action gun in his mini-van “which he used few days before in a wedding”.

He headed back to where his brother and the victim were fighting, and “aimed at the shop owner but struck his brother with the bullet instead. When he realised he had shot his brother, he aimed again and hit the shop owner”, the court added.

The defendant rushed his brother to a nearby hospital but he was declared dead on arrival, the court transcripts said, noting that the second victim was rushed to a hospital where attending doctors saved his life, the court transcripts added.

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

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zubi, Yassin Abdullat, Bassim Mubeidin and Saeed Mugheid.